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UNIVERSITY  OF  WISCONSIN  STUDIES 
IN  LANGUAGE  AND  LITERATURE 

NUMBER  10 


THE  DRAMATIC  ASSOCIATIONS  OF 
THE  EASTER  SEPULCHRE 


BY 

KARL  YOUNG 

PROFESSOR  OF  ENGLISH 


MADISON 

1920 


UNIVERSITY  OF  WISCONSIN  STUDIES 

NUMBER  13  LANGUAGE  AND  LITERATUR 

SEPTEMBER,  1920  PRICE,  FIFT 


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UNIVERSITY  OF  WISCONSIN  STUDIES 


IN  LANGUAGE  AND  LITERATURE 

NUMBER  10 


THE  DRAMATIC  ASSOCIATIONS  OF 
THE  EASTER  SEPULCHRE 


BY 

KARL  YOUNG 

PROFESSOR  OF  ENGLISH 


✓ 


MADISON 

1920 


BOSTON  COLLEGE  LIBRARY. 

CHESTNUT  HILL,  MASS. 


275132 


CONTENTS 


Part  I 9 

Part  II 18 

Part  III 29 

Part  IV 72 

Part  V 92 

Part  VI 127 


THE  DRAMATIC  ASSOCIATIONS  OF  THE 
EASTER  SEPULCHRE 


To  the  student  of  the  drama  of  the  mediaeval  church  nothing 
is  more  familiar  than  the  fact  that  the  liturgical  structure,  or 
locus , known  as  the  Easter  sepulchrum  was  the  center  of  three 
separate  dramatic  observances:  the  Deposition  the  Elevatio, 
and  the  Visitatio  Sepulchri.1  The  Depositio  took  place  on  Good 
Friday,  at  some  point  in  the  liturgy  after  the  Adoration  of  the 
Cross;  the  Elevatio  occurred  on  Easter  morning,  usually  before 
Matins;  and  the  normal  position  of  the  Visitatio  Sepulchri  was 
at  the  end  of  Easter  Matins,  immediately  before  the  Te  Deum. 
The  nature  of  these  dramatic  offices  may  be  conveniently 
shown  in  the  following  versions  of  the  fourteenth  century  from 
the  monastery  of  St.  Blaise,  in  the  Black  Forest:2 

< DEPOSIT  10  HOSTLE>3 

CoMMUNICATIS4  OMNIBUS  SONENTUR  TABULAE  OMNES.  POST  IEEC  EIET 
ORATIO  ANTE  VESPERAM.  INTERIM  SACERDOS  SUMAT  VIATICUM,  EATQUE  AD 

Sepulchrum  cum  incenso  & candelis  cantando  -Rcsponsorium: 

Agnus  Dei  Christus<immolatus  est  pro  salute  mundi.  Nam  de  paren- 
tis protoplasti  fraude  factor  condolens,  quando  pomi  noxialis  morte  morsu 
corruit;  ipse  lignum  tunc  notavit,  damna  ligni  est  solveret.  Versus: 
Christus  factus  est  pro  nobis  obediens  usque  ad  mortem,  mortem  autem 
crucis.  Ipse  lignum.5 6 


1 For  a survey  of  these  observances  see  E.  K.  Chambers,  The  Mediaeval 
Stage,  Vol.  II,  Oxford,  1903,  pp.  11-36. 

2 M.  Gerbert,  Monumenta  Veteris  Liturgiac  Alemannicae,  St.  Blasien,  1777— 
1779,  Part  II,  pp.  234r-235,  236.  The  Depositio  is  incompletely  reprinted  in 
Decreta  Authentica  Congregationis  Sacrorum  Riiuum,  Vol.  IV,  Rome,  1900, 
432.  The  Visitatio  is  reprinted  from  Gerbert  by  C.  Lange,  Die  lalcinischen 
Osterfeiern,  Munich,  1887,  pp.  30-31.  For  a bibliography  of  other  reprints  of 
this  version  of  the  Visitatio  see  Lange,  p.  6. 

3 Gerbert,  Monumenta,  Part  II,  p.  234. 

4 Communion  of  the  Missa  Prcesanclificatomm  of  Good  Friday.  See  below, 

pp.  19-20. 

6 Responsory  from  Matins  of  Holy  Saturday.  See  Migne,  Pairologia  Latina, 
Vol.  LXXVIII,  col.  768. 


6 


UNIVERSITY  OF  WISCONSIN  STUDIES 


< Responsorium  : > 

Ecce  quomodo  moritur<justus,  et  nemo  percipit  corde;  et  viri  justi 
tolluntur,  et  nemo  considerat;  a facie  iniquitatis  oblatus  est  justus,  et  erit 
in  pace  memoria  ejus.  Versus:  In  pace  factus  est  locus  ejus,  et  in  Sion 
habitatio  ejus.  Et  erit.  > ,6 

CUM  VERSIBUS  & REPETITIONIBUS  J PONENSQUE  ILLUD  IN  SEPULCHRUM  INCENSET, 
& claudens  illus  cantet  Responsorium: 

Sepulto  Domino,  <signatum  est  monumentum;  volventes  lapidem  ad 
ostium  monumenti,  ponentes  milites  qui  custodirent  illud.  Versus:  Ne 
forte  veniant  discipuli  ejus  et  furentur  eum,  et  dicant  plebi:  Surrexit  a 
mortuis.  Ponentes.  > ,7 

CUM  VERSU  & REPETITIONE;  PONATURQUE  CEREUS  ARDENS  ANTE  SEPULCHRUM. 

Deinde  legatur  Vespera. 

<ELEVATIO  HOSTLE>8 

Nocte  sacratissima  Resurrectionis  Domini  cum  tempus  fuerit  pulsandi 
Matutinum,  Secretarius  surgat,  sumens  laternam  cum  lumine  Domnum 
Abbatem  excitabit,  atque  Priorem,  deinde  alios  de  Fratribus  ad  com- 

PULSANDAS  CAMPANAS,  QUI  SIBI  PLACUERINT.  SURGENS  AUTEM  DOMNUS  ABBAS 
AD  ECCLESIAM  EAT,  & INDUIT  SE  ALBA,  STOLA,  ET  CAPPA,  PRIOR  AUTEM  ALBA  ET 
CAETERI  FRATRES.  SUMENTESQUE  DUO  THUREBULA  CUM  INCENSO,  PRAECE- 
DENTIBUS  CANDELABRIS,  EANT  AD  SEPULCHRUM  CUM  R eSpOnSOtio: 

Maria  Magdalena  <et  altera  Maria  ibant  diluculo  ad  monumentum. 
Jesum  quern  quaeritis  non  est  hie;  surrexit  sicut  locutus  est,  praecedet  vos 
in  Galilaeam,  ibi  eum  videbitis,  alleluia,  alleluia.  Versus:  Cito  euntes 
dicite  discipulis  ejus  et  Petro  quia  surrexit  Dominus.  Praecedet. >, 9 
CUM  VERSU.  & EANT  AD  SEPULCHRUM,  AC  ILLUD  INCENSENT  EXTERIUS;  DEINDE 
LEVATO  TEGIMENTO  ITERUM  INCENSENT  INTERIUS.  POSTEA  SUMENS  CORPUS 

Domini  super  alt  are  ponit  cantans  Responsorium: 

Surrexit  pastor  bonus  < qui  animam  suam  posuit  pro  ovibus  suis,  et  pro 
suo  grege  mori  dignatus  est,  alleluia,  alleluia,  alleluia.  Versus:  Surrexit 
Dominus  de  sepulcro,  qui  pro  nobis  pependit  in  ligno.  Et  pro  suo.>,10 
cum  versu.  Interim  levet  Corpus  Dominicum,  incensisque  candelis 
SONETUR  CLASSIS.  POST  TERN  AS  ORATIONES  LNCIPIAT  DOMNUS  ABBAS  XV 
GRADUS.  OMNES  QUI  IN  HAC  NOCTE  ALIQUID  CANTARE  VEL  LEGERE  VOLUNT, 
DEBENT  ESSE  REVESTITI  ALBIS  PRAETER  PUERUM  QUI  DICIT  VERSUM.  INFRA 
XV  GrADUS  SONENTUR  DUO  MAXIMA  SIGNA  IN  ANGULARI;  DEINDE  DUO  MAIORA 
SIGNA  IN  CHORO.  POSTEA  FIAT  COMPULSATIO  AB  OMNIBUS  CAMPANIS.  TUNC 


6 Responsory  from  Matins  of  Holy  Saturday.  See  Migne,  Pat.  Lat., 
LXXVIII,  768. 

7 See  ibid. 

8 Gerbert,  Monumenta , Part  II,  p.  236. 

9 First  responsory  of  Matins  of  Easter  Monday.  See  Migne,  Pat.  Lat.f 
LXXVIII,  771. 

10  The  third  responsory  of  Matins  of  Thursday  after  Easter.  See  Migne, 
Pat.  Lat.,  LXXVIII,  773. 


YOUNG — THE  EASTER  SEPULCHRE 


/ 


VENIENS  'DOMNUS  ABBAS  ANTE  ALTARE  INDUTUS  CAPPA  INCIPIAT:  Domine, 
labia  mea  aperies.11 

< VIS  IT  AT  10  SEPULCHR  I> 12 

Tertium  vero  responsorium  cantent  tres  Cantores  in  cappis,  quorum 
duo  incensent  altare,  ut  supra  SCRLPTUM  est.  R esponsorium:  Dum  tran- 
sissent,  quod  post  Gloria  patri  reincipiendum  est. 

Interim  duo  Sacerdotes  se  cappis  induunt  summentes  duo  thuribula, 

& HUMERARIA  IN  CAPITA  PONENT,  INTRANTES  CHORUM,  PAULATIM  EUNTES  VERSUS 
SePULCHRUM,  VOCE  MEDIOCRI  CANT  ANTES: 

Quis  revolvet  nobis  lapidem? 

Quos  Diaconus  qui  debet  esse  retro  Sepulchrum  interroget  psal- 

LENDO: 

Quem  quaeritis? 

Deinde  llli: 

Iesum  nazarenum. 

Quibus  Diaconus  respondet: 

Non  est  hie. 

Mox  incensent  Sepulchrum,  & dicente  Dia&ono:  Ite,  nuntiate,  ver^ent 

SE  AD  CHORUM  REMANENTES  SUPER  GRADUM,  & CANTENT: 

Surrexit  Dominus  de  sepulchro, 

USQUE  IN  FINEM.  FlNITA  ANTIPHONA,  DOMNUS  ABBAS  INCIPIAT: 

Te  Deum  laudamus, 

IN  MEDIO  ANTE  ALTARE,  MOXQUE  CAMPANAE  SONENTUR  IN  ANGULARIBUS.  CUM 

cantatur:  Per  singulos  dies,  sonentur  omnia  signa  in  choro. 

It  will  be  observed  that  the  mise  en  scene  for  all  three  of  these 
dramatic  offices  is  some  kind  of  sepulchrum.  This  particular 
version  of  the  Depositio  occurs  between  Mass  and  Vespers  on 
Good  Friday,  and  consists  essentially  in  the  burial  in  the 
sepulchrum  of  the  Host  ( Viaticum , Corpus  Domini ),  in  com- 
memoration of  the  burial  of  Christ.  The  essence  of  the  Elevatio 
is  the  raising  of  the  Host  from  the  sepulchrum , before  Matins 
on  Easter  morning,  in  commemoration  of  the  Resurrection. 
The  Visitatio  Sepulchri,  at  the  end  of  Easter  Matins,  has  as  its 
central  representation  the  visit  of  two  Maries13  to  the  empty 
sepulchrum.  A notable  fact  concerning  all  three  observances 
is  that  they  are  extra-liturgical:  that  is  to  say,  they  are  not 


11  This  versicle  opens  Matins. 

12  Gerbert,  Monumenta,  Part  II,  p.  236. 

13  It  will  be  noted  that,  whereas  impersonation  is  entirely  absent  from  the 
Depositio  and  Elevatio  before  us,  the  Visitatio  contains  at  least  hints  of  mimesis 
in  the  rubric  duo  Sacerdotes  . . . summentes  duo  thuribula  & kumeraria  in 
in  capita  ponent.  See  below,  pp.  128-129. 


8 


UNIVERSITY  OF  WISCONSIN  STUDIES 


authorized  and  essential  parts  of  the  traditional  liturgy  of  the 
Roman  church,  but  pious  additions. 

The  third  of  these  dramatic  offices,  the  Visitatio  Sepulchri, 
has  been  assiduously  studied  in  isolation,  and  a large  number 
of  versions  have  been  published.14  It  has  been  discerned, 
indeed,  that  the  Visitatio  had  a double  development  within  the 
liturgy  of  Easter, — at  the  Introit  of  Mass  and  at  the  end  of 
Matins, — and  this  phenomenon  has  been  sufficiently  ex- 
pounded.1 Of  the  Depositio  and  Elevatio,  however,  no  thorough 
study  has  ever  been  made.  Only  a relatively  small  number  of 
texts  of  these  ceremonials  are  available  in  print,  and  such 
versions  as  are  already  published  have  never  been  brought 
together  for  critical  examination.16  In  view  of  the  obvious 
interrelations  of  the  three  ceremonials,  this  neglect  is  unfor- 
tunate; for  it  is  clear  that  no  consideration  of  the  Visitatio  can 


14  For  bibliography  see  Publications  of  the  Modern  Language  Association, 
Vol.  XXIX  (1914),  p.  3. 

15  See  id.,  pp.  1-49. 

16  For  actual  texts  of  the  Depositio  and  Elevatio  previously  published  see 
especially  E.  Martene,  Tractatus  de  Antiqua  Ecclesice  Disciplina,  Lyons,  1706, 
pp.  367,  477-479,  503-505;  K.  Young,  The  Harrowing  of  Hell  in  Liturgical 
Drama , in  Transactions  of  the  Wisconsin  Academy  of  Sciences,  Arts,  and  Letters , 
Vol.  XVI,  Part  II  (1909),  pp.  897-934.  Isolated  printed  texts  are  referred  to 
below,  passim.  In  regard  to  the  bearing  of  the  Depositio  and  Elevatio  upon 
modern  liturgical  usage  the  most  important  study  is  found  in  Deer  eta  Authentica 
Congregationis  Sacrorum  Rituum,  Vol.  IV,  Rome,  1900,  pp.  419-441  (referred  to 
below  as  Deer  eta  Authentica).  As  a treatise  upon  mediaeval  observances  this 
study  is  far  from  complete.  For  discussions  of  some  aspects  of  the  Depositio 
and  Elevatio  see  A.  Heales,  in  Archceologia,  Vol.  XLII  (1869),  pp.  264-277; 
H.  P.  Feasey,  in  Ecclesiastical  Review,  Vol.  XXXII  (1905),  pp.  491-499 
pass.;  H.  J.  Feasey,  Ancient  English  Holy  Week  Ceremonial,  London,  1897,  pp. 
132-137,  169-177 ; J.  B.  Thiers,  Traite  de  V Exposition  du  S.  Sacrement  de  VAutel, 
Vol.  II,  Avignon,  1777,  pp.  193-202;  C.  Davidson,  Studies  in  the  English  Mys- 
tery Plays,  New  Haven,  1892,  pp.  16-20;  [A.  De  Santi],  in  La  Civiltd  Cattolica, 
1910,  Vol.  I,  pp.  709-7 1 1 ; A.  De  Santi,  II  Mattino  di  Pasqua  nella  Storia  Liturgica, 
Rome,  1917,  pp.  6-20;  H.  Thurston,  Lent  and  Holy  Week,  London,  1904,  pp. 
299-468;  Chambers,  II,  16-26;  V.  Thalhofer,  Handbuch  der  katholischen  Liturgik, 
Vol.  I,  Freiburg,  1912,  pp.  636-637;  De  Processionibus  Ecclesiasticis  Liber,  Paris, 
1641,  pp.  171-197;  H.  Alt,  Theater  u}ul  Kirche,  Berlin,  1846,  pp.  348-349; 
E.  G.  C.  F.  Atchley,  A History  of  the  Use  of  Incense  in  Divine  Worship  ( Alenin 
Club  Collections,  No.  XIII),  London,  1909,  pp.  296-300;  J.  D.  Chambers,  Divine 
Worship  in  England  in  the  Thirteenth  and  Fourteenth  Centuries,  London,  1877, 
Appendix,  pp.  xxvi-xl. 


YOUNG — THE  EASTER  SEPULCHRE 


9 


be  definitive  without  reference  to  the  content  and  associations 
of  the  Depositio  and  Elevatio.  I therefore  venture  to  undertake 
a special  study  of  these  two  offices.17  For  my  texts  I draw 
chiefly  upon  unpublished  manuscripts  and  incunabula;  but  I 
have  been  glad  to  avail  myself  also  of  such  versions  as  are 
found  in  modern  print.18 


I 

Since  the  Depositio  and  Elevatio  are  extra-liturgical  develop- 
ments within  the  authorized  liturgy  of  Holy  Week  and  Easter 
morning,  we  may  appropriately  examine  their  liturgical  associa- 
tions for  suggestions  concerning  their  origins.* 1 

17  It  should  be  remembered  that  in  the  present  study  I do  not  undertake 
an  orderly  and  detailed  consideration  of  the  sepulchrum  itself.  I concern 
myself,  not  with  this  material  structure,  but  with  the  dramatic  ceremonials 
surrounding  it.  My  observations  concerning  the  sepulchrum  itself  are  merely 
incidental.  Bibliography  upon  this  special  subject  is  given  by  the  present 
writer  in  Transactions  of  the  Wisconsin  Academy  of  Sciences , Arts,  and  Letters, 
XVI,  Part  II,  pp.  895-896,  and  by  J.  K.  Bonnell,  in  Publications  of  the  Modern 
Language  Association,  Vol.  XXXI  (1916),  pp.  664-712. 

18  It  is  inevitable  that  some  published  versions  escape  me;  and  I do  not, 
of  course,  pretend  to  have  exhausted  the  possibilities  of  the  thousands  of  liturgi- 
cal manuscripts  in  European  libraries.  I have  not  been  able  to  include  the 
versions  published  by  F.  Arens,  Der  Liber  Ordinarius  der  Essener  Stiftskirche, 
Paderborn,  1908,  as  reported  by  A.  De  Santi  in  La  Civiltd  Cattolica,  1910,  Vol.  I, 
pp.  709-711.  Unpublished  examples  of  the  Depositio  and  Elevatio  in  manu- 
scripts are  referred  to  by  N.  C.  Brooks  in  Journal  of  English  and  Germanic 
Philology,  Vol.  VIII  (1909),  469,  481,  and  in  Zeitschrift  fiir  deulsches  Altcrtum, 
LV  (1914),  pp.  55,  56,  58.  I take  this  occasion  for  acknowledging  the  invaluable 
assistance  given  me  by  my  friend  Dom  G.  M.  Beyssac,  of  Quarr  Abbey,  Isle  of 
Wight. 

1 In  my  discussion  of  origins  I venture  to  ignore  certain  vague  or  obviously 
inadequate  suggestions  made  by  other  writers.  In  speaking  of  the  “sepulchre 
rite”  as  a whole,  H.  J.  Feasey  ( Ancient  English  Holy  Week  Ceremonial,  p.  129) 
speaks  of  “some  [persons]  inclining  to  the  suggestion  that  its  source  lay  in  the  old 
Mystery  Plays  which  were  of  old  performed  in  the  churches.”  Cf.  FI.  P.  Feasey, 
in  Ecclesiastical  Review,  XXXII,  337.  We  are,  of  course,  seeking  the  source 
behind  “the  old  Mystery  Plays.”  Feasey,  again,  speaks  {Ancient  English  Holy 
Week  Ceremonial,  p.  130)  of  others  who  “think  the  ceremony  arose  as  occasion 
or  devotion  required,  as  did  the  Christmas  Crib  and  other  like  devotions.” 
This  view  simply  evades  the  investigation  of  what  “occasion  or  devotion 
required.”  The  rise  of  the  “devotions”  surrounding  the  Christmas  Crib  is 


10 


UNIVERSITY  OF  WISCONSIN  STUDIES 


Such  suggestions  appear,  for  example,  in  connection  with 
the  reservation  of  a Host  from  the  Mass  of  Holy  Thursday  for 
the  mass  of  the  Presanctified  {Missa  Prcesanctificatorum)  on 
Good  Friday.* 2  This  reservation  was  necessary  through  the 
fact  that  from  about  the  fifth  century  to  the  present  time  the 
Roman  rite  has  not  permitted  the  consecration  of  the  sacred 
elements  on  Good  Friday  itself.3  The  result  of  this  prohibition 
is  the  supplying  of  the  mass  of  Good  Friday  with  a Host  con- 
secrated upon  the  previous  day, — a presanctified  Host.  Hence 
the  term  Missa  Prcesanctificatorum.  The  absence  of  the  con- 
secration of  the  Host  from  the  mass  of  Friday  automatically 
eliminates  a large  part  of  the  usual  Ordo  Missae,  including  such 
central  elements  as  the  consecratory  prayer  of  the  Canon  and 
the  words  of  the  Institution.  This  reduced  form  of  Mass  is, 
in  fact,  primarily  a mere  communion  service,  for  which  the 
Host  is  reserved  from  the  day  before.4 

Our  immediate  interest  in  the  Missa  Prcesanctificatorum , 
however,  lies  not  so  much  in  the  liturgical  content  itself  as  in 
the  implications  of  the  reserving  of  the  Host  from  Thursday 
to  Friday.  The  laying  away  of  the  Corpus  Domini  from  one 
day  to  another  naturally  surrounded  itself  with  a special  cere- 
monial and  was  inevitably  interpreted  by  a special  symbolism. 


investigated  by  the  present  writer  in  Transactions  of  the  Wisconsin  Academy 
of  Sciences,  Arts , and  Letters,  Vol.  XVII,  Part  I (1912),  pp.  299-395.  Feasey 
makes  also  the  following  suggestion  ( Ecclesiastical  Review,  XXXII,  337-338) : 
“Others  again  with  much  more  show  of  reason  think  the  necessity  of  providing 
a suitable  place  and  receptacle  for  the  Sacred  Host,  which  the  rubric  directed  to 
be  reserved  from  Maunday  Thursday  till  Holy  Saturday  [sic],  gave  rise  to  the 
ceremony.”  I infer  that  the  “rubric”  referred  to  is  that  (see  below,  pp.  40, 
45,  114)  requiring  the  consecration  on  Holy  Thursday  of  a third  Host  to  be 
deposited  in  the  sepulchrnm  on  Friday  and  to  be  left  until  Sunday  morning. 
But  the  question  before  us  is,  What  is  the  origin  of  this  practice  of  reserving  a 
third  Host  and  of  laying  it  in  a sepulchrum  from  Good  Friday  until  Easter? 

2 This  reservation  is  considered  at  length  by  Raible,  Ueher  Ur  sprung,  Alter 
und  Entwickelung  der  Missa  Prcesanctificatorum,  in  Der  Katholik  (Mainz), 
Dritte  Folge,  XXIII  (1901),  pp.  143-156,  250-266,  363-374. 

3 See  Raible,  pp.  152,  250,  261,  266.  The  reasons  for  this  prohibition  do  not 
concern  us  here.  See  Raible,  p.  144;  Mabillon,  Museum  Italicum , Vol.  II,  Paris, 
1724,  pp.  lxxv-lxxvi;  Belethus,  Rationale  Divinorum  Officiorum,  cap.  xcvii,  in 
Migne,  Pat.  Lat.,  CCII,  99-100. 

4 The  liturgical  content  of  the  Missa  Prcesanctificatorum  is  more  definitely 
outlined  below,  pp.  19-20. 


YOUNG — THE  EASTER  SEPULCHRE 


11 


For  an  understanding  of  this  ceremonial  we  can  scarcely 
do  better  than  to  examine  the  prescriptions  of  the  Ordines 
Romani.  Thus  Ordo  I,  in  passages  that  probably  represent 
the  traditions  of  the  sixth  century,5  speaks  of  the  Thursday 
reservation  in  the  laconic  words  et  servat  de  sancta  usque  in 
crastinumf  and  of  the  bringing  forth  of  the  presanctified  Host 
during  the  Mass  of  Friday,  as  follows:7 

Presbyteri  vero  duo  priores  . . . intrant  secretarium,  vel  ubi  positum 
fuerat  Corpus  Domini  quod  pridie  remansit,  ponentes  eum  in  patena;  & sub- 
diaconus  teneat  ante  ipsos  calicem  cum  vino  non  consecrato,  & alter  subdia- 
conus  patenam  cum  Corpore  Domini;  quibus  tenentibus  accipit  unus  presbyter 
patenam  et  alter  calicem,  & deferunt  super  altare  nudatum. 

However  uncommunicative  these  rubrics  may  seem,8  they 
establish  the  fact  that  the  reserved  Host  was  not  left  upon  the 
altar  upon  which  it  was  consecrated  orf  Thursday,9  but  was  kept 
over  night  in  a special  place, — for  example,  a secretarium. 
Had  we  no  other  information  we  should  safely  infer  that  the 
surroundings  of  the  Host  in  this  special  locus  must  have  been 
reverential,  and  that  the  carrying  of  the  Corpus  Christi  to  and 
from  this  place  must  have  assumed  a processional  character. 
As  a matter  of  fact,  however,  information  of  this  sort  is  at  hand. 
In  the  tenth  Roman  Ordo , for  example,  the  ceremonial  of  the 
reservation  in  connection  with  the  papal  mass  at  the  Church 
of  St.  John  Lateran  is  described  as  follows:10 

Postquam  autem  communicavit,11  ponit  calicem  super  altare,  & patenam 
juxta  eum  cum  Corpore  Domini  reservato,  quia  sexta  feria  de  ipso  sacrificio 
resumit;  & cooperitur  utrumque  sindone  munda.  . . . Reserventur  tamen 
oblatae  integrae  de  Corpore  Domini  in  die  Parasceve;  sanguis  vero  Domini 
penitus  assumatur.  . . . Sed  antequam  Pontifex  revertatur  ad  altare  ad 


5 See  Raible,  pp.  253-259;  Thalhofer,  I,  78. 

6 Mabillon,  II,  21. 

7 Mabillon,  II,  23. 

8 Similar  brief  rubrics  from  the  ordines  of  St.  Amand  and  Einsiedeln  may  be 
seen  in  L.  Duchesne,  Christian  Worship,  London,  1904,  pp.  467,  482,  483. 

9 Such  a removal  was  necessitated  by  the  washing  of  the  altar  on  Thursday 
evening.  See  J.  Corblet,  Histoire  dogmatique,  liturgique  et  archeologique  du 
Sacrement  de  V Eucharistie,  Vol.  I,  Paris,  1886,  p.  538. 

10  Mabillon,  II,  100-101.  The  date  of  the  formulation  of  Ordo  Romanus  X 
is  uncertain.  The  ceremonials  that  it  presents  probably  date  back  at  least  to  the 
eleventh  or  twelfth  century.  See  Thalhofer,  I,  80. 

11  This  refers  to  the  Communion  of  the  Mass  of  Holy  Thursday. 


12 


UNIVERSITY  OF  WISCONSIN  STUDIES 


complendam  Missam,  junior  presbyterorum  cardinalium  portet  Corpus  Domini 
positum  in  pyxide  ad  locum  pneparatum,  praecedentibus  cum  cruce  & luminari- 
bus,  & papilione  desuper. 

This  rubric  provides  for  the  processional  transfer  of  the 
Host  to  a special  place  of  reservation,  the  procession  being 
provided  with  a cross,  lights,  and  a canopy. 

The  recovery  of  the  reserved  Host  for  the  Miss  a Prasancti- 
jicatorum  on  Good  Friday  is  provided  for  in  the  same  or  do  as 
follows  :12 

Tunc  junior  presbyterorum  cardinalium  ferat  adornatum  capsidem  cum 
Dominico  Corpo  fe  hesterna  die  reservato;  & sic  subdiaconus  cum  papali  cruce 
processionem  prae  cedente,  omnes  discalceati  sine  cantu  psallendo  ad  ecclesiam 
Sanctae  Crucis,  quae  est  Jerusalem,  ubi  statio  fieri  debet,  ordinate  tamen,  pro- 
cedant,  quando  dominus  Papa  est  Laterani.  Cum  autem  illuc  pervenerint, 
ingrediuntur  ecclesiam  sine  cafitu,  & prostrati  in  medio  ecclesias  diutius  orent. 
*Presbyter,  qui  portat  Corpus  Christi,  in  secretario  ponat  illud,  dum  dominus 
Papa  praeparat  se. 

This  passage  describes  the  papal  procession  conducting  the 
reserved  Host  from  St.  John  Lateran  to  Santa  Croce  in  Geru- 
salemme,  the  papal  station  for  the  Missa  Prasanctificalorum. 
The  clergy  are  bare-footed,  they  proceed  without  chant,  and 
at  their  destination  prostrate  themselves  in  prayer. 

With  the  ceremonial  of  papal  Rome  we  may  profitably  com- 
pare the  use  of  France  as  prescribed  in  the  eleventh  century  for 
Rouen  by  the  archbishop,  Jean  d’Avranches.  The  reservation 
on  Holy  Thursday  is  arranged  as  follows:13 

Ipsa  die  plures  hostiae  consecrentur,  quibus  clerus  et  populus  communicetur; 
et  medietas  hostiarum  absque  vino  in  crastino  reservetur,  unde  iterum  communi- 
centur.  Ipsae  vero  hostiae  a sacerdote  et  ministris  altaris  indutis,  cum  pro- 
cessionc,  scilicet  cum  cereis  et  incenso,  super  quoddam  altare  honorifice  de- 
portentur,  ubi  cum  nitidissimis  linteaminibus  optime  recondantur.  Ibi  semper 
lumen  usque  ad  ultimae  candelae  extinctionem  in  Matutinis  ardeat. 

It  will  be  observed  that  in  this  case  the  procession  sequesters 
the  reserved  Host  upon  a special  altar,  and  that  a light  is  kept 
burning  before  it  until  the  next  morning. 


12  Mabillon,  II,  102. 

13  Jean  d’Avranches,  Liber  de  Officiis  Ecclesiaslicis,  in  Migne,  Pat.  Lat., 
CXLVII,  50. 


YOUNG — THE  EASTER  SEPULCHRE 


13 


The  bringing  forth  of  the  reserved  Host  for  the  Missa 
Prasanctificatorum  is  briefly  ordered  by  Jean  d’Avranches  as 
follows:14 


Post  ministri  crucis  casulis  induti  afferant  ad  altare,  cum  vino  non  consecrato, 
reservatum  Corpus  Domini,  ubi  a sacerdote  incensetur. 


Only  one  other  liturgical  rubric  need  be  cited  here:  for  the 
papal  reservation  of  Holy  Thursday  as  ordered  in  the  fifteenth 
Roman  Or  do,  of  the  fourteenth  century:15 

Postquam  dominus  Papa  intrat  ad  sacrificandum,  conficit  duas  hostias,  unam 
pro  se,  & aliam  pro  die  Veneris.  . . . Percepto  corpore  & sanguine  Domini 
nostri  Jesu  Christi  cum  calice  & sine  calamo,  antequam  abluat  manus,  ipsum 
calicem  cum  Corpore  Domini  nostri  reservato,  non  ilium  calicem  in  quo  cele- 
bravit,  sed  solum  magnum  de  auro,  sibi  praesentet  coopertum  cum  magna 
reverentia  sacrista  papalis  cum  sindone,  cum  lustris  aureis.  E sinistro  brachio 
pendet  unum  caput,  & in  dextra  manu  portat  calicem  coopertum  alio  capite,  & 
reverenter  ponit  praedictum  calicem  prope  Papam  circa  medium  altaris  cum 
alia  tobalea  de  sirico,  cum  qua  cooperitur  calix,  in  quo  est  Corpus  Christi.  Et 
nota,  quod  antequam  abluat  digitos  dominus  Papa,  Corpus  Christi  cum  reve- 
rentia magna  infra  praedictum  calicem  ponit,  & super  calicem  corporalia  ilia; 
pars  minor  corporalium,  & super  corporate  patenam,  & super  patenam  caput 
illius  tobaleae  de  sindone.  Statim  quo  facto,  abluit  digitos  infra  calicem  cum 
quo  celebravit,  & bibit  illud;  & antequam  abluat  manus  in  magnis  bacilibus 
Papae,  ipse  Papa  vel  episcopus  cardinalis  qui  servit  sibi  in  Missa,  praedictum 
calicem  cum  Corpore  Christi  sic  coopertum,  & super  humerum  sinistrum  pendet 
aliud  caput  illius  tobaleae,  & tenens  cum  ambabus  manibus  calicem  per  medium 
portat  ad  armariolum,  in  quo  conservatur  usque  in  crastinum,  antecedentibus 
luminaribus,  cruce,  & incenso  processionaliter  cum  devotione.  Quo  reposito, 
genuflexus  thurificat  Corpus  Christi;  quo  facto,  revertitur  ad  altare;  & sic 
lavat  manus  ut  moris  est. 


For  our  present  purpose  the  significance  of  this  ceremonial 
lies  not  in  the  details  of  the  procession  but  in  the  fact  that  the 
reserved  Host  is  carried  and  kept  in  a chalice,16  and  that  the 
chalice  containing  the  Host  is  deposited  in  some  sort  of  chest 
or  tabernacle. 

Cwith  these  several  examples  of  the  authorized  ceremonial 
before  us,  we  may  briefly  observe  several  resemblances  between 
the  liturgical  reservation  from  Holy  Thursday  to  Good  Friday 


14  Migne,  Pat.  Lat.,  CXLVII,  52. 

35  Mabillon,  II,  482-483. 

16  Compare  the  modern  practice,  expounded  in  Deer  eta  Authentica,  IV, 
420-421. 


14 


UNIVERSITY  OF  WISCONSIN  STUDIES 


and  the  extra-liturgical  “burial,” — Depositio — Elevatio, — from 
Good  Friday  until  Easter: 

1)  The  chest,  or  tabernacle,  in  which  the  reserved  Host  is 
placed17  has  an  exact  parallel  in  the  sepulchrum  of  the  Depositio 
and  Elevatio. 

2)  The  placing  of  the  reserved  Host  upon  a special  altar18 
has  a parallel  in  several  versions  of  the  Depositio  and  Elevatio 
in  which  the  sepulchrum  is  the  altar  itself,19  or  is  closely  attached 
to  an  altar.20 

3)  The  light  kept  burning  before  the  altar  of  the  reserva- 
tion21 calls  to  mind  the  lights  furnished  for  the  sepulchrum.22 

4)  The  depositing  of  the  reserved  Host  in  a chalice23  is 
clearly  a possible  antecedent  for  the  use  of  the  chalice  in  nu- 
merous versions  of  the  dramatic  observances.24!; 

Although  the  extant  documents  do  not  allow  us  to  demon- 
strate that  each  of  these  uses  connected  with  the  reservation 
of  Holy  Thursday  was  established  before  the  date  of  the  earliest 
versions  of  the  Depositio  and  Elevatio , in  the  tenth  century,25 
the  probability  is  that  in  these  matters  the  extra-liturgical 
observances  are  antedated  by  the  authorized  ceremonial.  In 
any  case,  this  fundamental  observation  is  sound:  Whatever 
the  ceremonial  details  of  the  reservation  may  have  been  in  any 
particular  locality  or  at  any  particular  time,  the  traditional 
depositing  of  the  reserved  Host  in  a place  of  repose  furnishes  an 
ancient  and  conspicuous  model  for  the  invention  of  a Depositio 
and  an  Elevatio;  and  the  special  ceremonials  of  the  reservation 
at  subsequent  periods  may  well  have  influenced  the  variety  to 
be  observed  in  the  Depositio  and  Elevatio  during  the  course  of 
their  long  development.26 


17  See  Ordo  Romanus  XV,  cited  above,  p.  13. 

18  See  passage  from  Jean  d’Avranches,  cited  above,  p.  12. 

19  See  below,  p.  74. 

20  See  below,  pp.  34,  35,  44,  55. 

21  See  citation  from  Jean  d’Avranches,  above,  p.  12. 

22  For  example,  see  below,  pp.  102,  119. 

23  See  the  citation  from  Ordo  Romanus  XV,  above,  p.  13. 

24  See  below,  pp.  97,  102,  104,  106. 

25  The  evidence  for  this  date  is  cited  below,  p.  73. 

26  Concerning  the  date  of  the  more  elaborate  ceremonials  of  the  Thursday 
reservation  Father  Herbert  Thurston  speaks  as  follows  {Lent  and  Holy  Week , 
p.  296) : “The  practice  of  bringing  the  second  Host  in  state  to  the  place  prepared 


YOUNG — THE  EASTER  SEPULCHRE 


15 


But  the  aptness  of  the  model  can  be  still  more  soundly 
established  through  an  appeal  to  another  body  of  evidence:  the 
traditional  symbolism  surrounding  the  reservation  of  the  Host. 
It  will  be  observed  that  none  of  the  ordines  cited  above  specif- 
ically suggests  that  the  place  in  which  the  reserved  Host  is 
deposited  is  a sepulchrum , or  that  the  act  of  reservation  is  a 
“burial.”  In  view  of  the  meaning  of  the  day,  this  silence  is  to 
be  expected,  for  obviously  the  idea  of  Christ’s  burial  and  the 
name  sepulchrum  are  inappropriate  to  Holy  Thursday,  since 
this  day  commemorates  not  the  death  or  burial  of  Christ,  but 
rather  the  Last  Supper  and  the  Institution  of  the  Eucharist. 
There  are,  however,  ample  evidences  that  the  place  of  the 
Thursday  reservation  did  come  to  be  regarded  as  a sepulchrum , 
and  the  sources  of  this  conception  are  not  far  to  seek. 

It  appears  that  at  all  periods  of  liturgical  history  the  recep- 
tacle for  reserving  the  Eucharist, — whether  for  the  sick  or  for 
other  purposes, — was  symbolized  as  a tomb.  That  is  to  say, 
the  vessel  or  tabernacle  enclosing  the  Corpus  Domini  was,  not 
unnaturally,  regarded  as  a sepulchrum.  Thus  in  early  times  the 
capsa  for  containing  the  Host  was  often  designed  in  the  form 
of  a “tower,”  the  actual  tomb  of  Christ  in  Jerusalem  being  con- 
ceived in  this  form.  Hence  in  early  Christian  art  the  taber- 
nacle took  the  name  turris27  In  a commentary  upon  the 
Gallican  Mass,  assigned  to  the  sixth  century,  we  read  as  follows: 

Corpus  vero  Domini  ideo  defertur  in  turribus,  quia  monumenlum  Domini  in 
similitudinem  turris  fuit  scissum  in  petra,  et  intus  lectum  ubi  pausavit  Corpus 
Dominicum,  unde  surrexit  Rex  gloriae  in  triumphum.28 

If,  then,  the  receptacle  for  the  reserved  Corpus  Domini 
(Sacramentum  consecratum)  was,  in  its  general  use,  interpreted 
as  sepulchrum , there  is  abundant  justification  for  the  presence 

for  it,  although  alluded  to  as  early  as  the  time  of  Lanfranc,  seems  only  to  have 
become  generally  established  towards  the  end  of  the  fifteenth  century.”  After 
the  latter  part  of  the  thirteenth  century  the  ceremonial  both  of  the  Thursday 
reservation  and  of  the  Dcpositio  and  Elevatio  were  probably  influenced  by  the 
procession  of  Corpus  Christi  day.  Upon  this  point  see  Thurston,  p.  296-297. 

27  See  Raible,  p.  262;  Decreta  Authentica , IV,  419;  Y.  Hirn,  The  Sacred 
Shrine , London,  1912,  pp.  159-161.  In  regard  to  tabernacles  in  general,  see 
Corblet,  I,  550-563. 

28  Quoted  in  Decreta  Authentica,  IV,  419,  from  Martene,  Thesaurus  Novus 
Anecdotorum , Vol.  V,  col.  94.  Cf.  Raible,  p.  262. 


16 


UNIVERSITY  OF  WISCONSIN  STUDIES 


of  this  conception  in  connection  with  the  reservation  of  Holy 
Thursday. 

But  a further  basis  for  this  symbolizing  is  found  in  certain 
specific  details  in  the  ceremonial  of  Holy  Thursday.  We  have 
already  noticed  that  the  reserved  Host  was  sometimes  placed 
in  a closed  chalice,29  and  also  that  it  was  sometimes  deposited 
at  a special  altar.30  Once  more,  then,  we  encounter  the  idea 
of  sepulchrum , for  both  the  chalice31  and  the  altar32  are  abun- 
dantly symbolized  as  receptacles  for  burial.33 j 

There  is,  then,  ample  reason  for  citing  the  reservation  of  the 
Host  for  the  Missa  Prcesanctijicatorum  as  being  among  the 
formative  antecedents  of  the  Depositio  and  Elevatio;  and  in  our 


29  See  Ordo  Romanics  XV,  cited  above,  p.  13. 

30  See  Jean  d’Avranches,  ‘cited  above,  p.  12. 

31  See  Corblet,  II,  241,  295;  Decreta  Authentica,  IV,  419-420.  The  symboliz- 
ing of  the  chalice  as  sepulchrum  can  be  found  as  early  as  the  ninth  century  (see 
Decreta  Authentica , IV,  420);  but  how  early  the  chalice  was  used  for  containing 
the  Host  reserved  on  Holy  Thursday,  the  liturgiologist  of  the  Decreta  does  not 
say.  On  the  general  subject  see  also  Moroni,  Dizionario  di  Erudizione  storico- 
ecclesiastica,  Vol.  LXIV,  p.  87. 

32  See  Him,  pp.  16-27 ; J.  K.  Bonnell,  in  Publications  of  the  Modern  Language 
Association,  XXXI,  pp.  664-712;  K.  Young,  in  Publications  of  the  Modern 
Language  Association,  XXIX,  pp.  42-46.  Him  makes  clear  that  this  symboliz- 
ing of  the  altar  as  sepulchrum  dates  from  the  earliest  Christian  centuries.  See 
also  De  Processionibus  Ecclesiasticis  Liber,  Paris,  1641,  pp.  181-191. 

33 1 wish  to  keep  from  the  center  of  our  present  discussion  the  obscurities 
that  often  arise  in  connection  with  the  modern  practice  of  revering  the  place 
of  the  Thursday  reservation  as  a “sepulchrum.”  This  practice  may  have  arisen 
in  either  of  two  ways:  (1)  through  the  persistent  mediaeval  symbolizing  of  the 
place  of  repose  as  a sepulchre;  or  (2)  through  later  confusion  with  the  burial  of 
the  Host  in  the  Depositio  of  Good  Friday.  Probably  both  influences  are  present 
in  the  modem  practice.  In  any  case  the  modem  veneration  of  the  “sepulchre” 
on  Holy  Thursday  should  be  sharply  distinguished  from  the  Depositio  and 
Elevatio  of  our  present  study.  Although  this  distinction  is  adequately  main- 
tained by  excellent  authorities  ( Decreta  Authentica,  IV,  419-421;  Thurston,  pp. 
299-300;  J.  T.  Mickle th waite,  The  Ornaments  of  the  Rubric  [Alcuin  Club  Tracts, 
No.  I],  London,  1897,  pp.  52-53;  A.  W.  Pugin,  Glossary  of  Ecclesiastical  Orna- 
ment and  Costume,  London,  1868,  pp.  206-208),  it  is  unknown  to  some  who  have 
discussed  the  church  drama  (See  Heales,  in  Archceologia,  XLII,  265-266,  268- 
269;  Moroni,  Dizionario  di  Erudizione  storico-ecclesiastica,  LXIV,  87-89; 
F.  G.  Lee,  Glossary  of  Liturgical  and  Ecclesiastical  Terms,  London,  1877,  p.  118; 
J.  C.  Cox  and  A.  Harvey,  English  Church  Furniture,  London,  1907,  p.  74). 


YOUNG — THE  EASTER  SEPULCHRE 


17 


examination  of  the  various  versions  of  these  offices  we  shall 
encounter  continued  reminders  of  this  influence.34 

This  is,  perhaps,  an  appropriate  point  at  which  to  introduce 
a bit  of  external  evidence  showing  that  the  Host  was  actually 
employed  for  the  Depositio  and  Elevatio  as  early  as  the  tenth 
century.  In  a life  of  St.  Udalricus,  bishop  of  Augsburg  (f973), 
which  appears  to  have  been  written  within  some  twenty  years 
from  the  date  of  his  death,  we  read  the  following  concerning 
the  liturgical  observances  of  this  ecclesiastic  on  Good  Friday 
and  Easter:35 

Die  autem  Parasceve  . . . mane  diluculo  psalterium  explere  festinavit,  et 
sacro  Dei  mysterio  perpetrato,  populoque  sacro  Christi  corpore  saginato , et  con- 
suetudinario  more , quod  remanserat,  sepulto,  interum  inter  ecclesias  ambulando, 
psalterium  explevit  decantando.  . . . Desideratissimo  atque  sanctissimo 
Paschali  die  adveniente,  post  primam  intravit  e^clesiam  Sancti  Ambrosii,  ubi 
die  Parasceve  Corpus  Christi  superposito  lapide  collocavit,  ibique  cum  paucis 
clericis  Missam  de  sancta  Trinitate  explevit.  Expleta  autem  Missa  .... 
secmn  portato  Christi  Corpore  et  Evangelio  et  cereis  et  incenso  et  cum  congrua 
salutatione  versuum  a pueris  decantata  . . . perrexit  ad  ecclesiam  sancti 
Ioannis  Baptistae. 

From  this  passage  we  learn  that,  according  to  a custom 
established  at  Augsburg  before  the  year  973,  after  Communion 
at  the  close  of  the  Missa  Prcesanctificatorum  in  the  cathedral  on 
Good  Friday,  the  remains  of  the  Sacrament  were  deposited  in 
the  church  of  St.  Ambrosius  in  some  sort  of  sepulchrum  closed 
by  a stone  (lapis).™  Apparently  the  Corpus  Domini  thus  buried 
remained  in  the  sepulchrum  until  Easter  morning,  and  it  is 
reasonable  to  infer  that  at  that  time  occurred  some  sort  of 


34 1 may  anticipate  one  such  reminder.  The  ordinaria  of  several  churches 
(see  below,  for  example,  pp.  40,  45,  114)  explicitly  provide  that  in  the  Mass 
of  Holy  Thursday  three  Hosts  shall  be  consecrated:  one  for  the  Mass  of  the  day, 
one  for  the  Missa  Prcesanctificatorum  of  Good  Friday,  and  one  for  “burial” 
in  the  sepulchrum  of  the  Depositio  and  Elevatio.  Nothing  could  more  emphati- 
cally suggest  the  bond  between  the  reservation  of  Thursday  and  the  Depositio 
than  the  fact  that  the  objects  to  be  venerated  in  the  two  ceremonials  are  conse- 
crated, side  by  side,  in  a single  ritual. 

35  Acta  Sanctorum , July,  Vol.  II,  Paris  and  Rome,  1867,  p.  103.  Concerning 
matters  of  authorship  and  date  see  id.,  p.  95.  See  also  Martene,  p.  367; 
Deer  eta  Authentica,  IV,  430. 

36  For  the  use  of  the  lapis  in  the  extant  versions  of  the  Depositio  and  Eleva- 
tio see,  for  example,  below,  pp.  93,  94. 


18 


UNIVERSITY  OF  WISCONSIN  STUDIES 


Elevatio .37  Concerning  the  church  of  Ambrosius  we  have  no 
information,  but  we  may  assume  that  it  was  near  the  Cathedral, 
and  that  for  the  Depositio  of  Good  Friday  the  Corpus  Domini 
was  carried  thither  in  procession.38 

If  we  are  correct  in  our  inference  that  the  reservation  of 
Holy  Thursday  influenced  the  formation  and  development  of 
such  a Depositio  and  Elevatio  as  are  referred  to  by  Udalricus, 
we  may  summarize  this  phenomenon  briefly  as  follows.  The 
laying  away  of  a Host  in  a sepulchrum  from  Good  Friday 
until  Easter  was  in  some  sort  an  extra-liturgical  imitation,  or 
reduplication,  of  the  liturgical  reservation  of  the  Host  from 
Holy  Thursday  to  Good  Friday.  Whereas  the  idea  of  sepul- 
chrum and  “burial,”  though  inherent  in  the  instruments  used 
in  the  reservation  of  Holy  Thursday,  was  essentially  inappro- 
priate to  that  day,  this  idea  finds  complete  appropriateness 
and  realization  in  the  laying  down  and  raising  of  the  Host  in 
the  extra-liturgical  Depositio  and  Elevatio  of  Good  Friday  and 
Easter. 


II 

For  the  sake  of  lucidity,  I have  hitherto  ignored  the  circum- 
stance that  the  Host  was  not  the  only  object  deposited  in  the 
extra-liturgical  sepulchrum.  In  citing  the  Thursday-Friday 
reservation  as  an  influence  toward  the  formation  of  the  Depositio 
and  Elevatio  I have  offered  no  explanation  of  the  fact  that  in  a 
large  proportion  of  the  extant  versions  of  these  dramatic  offices 
the  burial  included  both  a Host  and  a Cross,* 1  and  that  a good 
many  texts  prescribe  the  burial  of  the  Cross  alone.2  In  this 
use  of  the  Cross  we  readily  discern  a second  fundamental 
influence  upon  the  Depositio  and  Elevatio:  namely,  that  of  the 
liturgical  Adoratio  Crucis  of  Good  Friday.3 

CThe  Adoratio  Crucis  is  certainly  one  of  the  oldest  of  the 
liturgical  observances  of  Holy  Week.  The  following  passage 


37  Possibly  the  Elevatio  is  implied  in  the  words  secum  portalo  Christi  Cor  pore. 

38  See  Acta  Sanctorum,  loc.  cit.,  p.  104. 

1 See  below,  pp.  92-127. 

2 See  below,  pp.  72-91. 

3 See  Decreta  Authentica,  IV,  432;  Chambers,  II,  17-18. 


YOUNG — THE  EASTER  SEPULCHRE 


19 


from  the  Peregrinatio  Etherice  describes  it  as  it  was  witnessed  at 
Jerusalem  in  the  fourth  century  by  a noble  lady  from  Gaul:4 

Et  sic  ponitur  cathedra  episcopo  in  Golgotha  post  Crucem,  quae  stat  nunc; 
residet  episcopus  hie  cathedra;  ponitur  ante  eum  mensa  sublinteata;  stant  in 
giro  mensa  diacones;  et  affertur  loculus  argenteus  deauratus  in  quo  est  lignum 
sanctum  crucis;  aperitur  et  profertur;  ponitur  in  mensa  quam  lignum  crucis 
quam  titulus.  Cum  ergo  positum  fuerit  in  mensa,  episcopus  sedens  de  manibus 
suis  summitates  de  ligno  sancto  premet;  diacones  autem  qui  in  giro  stant 
custodent.  Hoc  autem  propterea  sic  custoditur,  quia  consuetudo  est  ut  unus 
et  unus  omnis  populus  veniens,  tarn  fideles  quam  cathecumini,  acclinant  se  ad 
mensam,  osculentur  sanctum  lignum,  et  pertranseant.  Et  quoniam,  nescio 
quando,  dicitur  quidam  fixisse  morsum  et  furasset  sancto  ligno,  ideo  nunc  a 
diaconibus  qui  in  giro  stant,  sic  custoditur,  ne  quis  veniens  audeat  denuo  sic 
facere.  Ac  sic  ergo  omnis  populus  transit,  unus  et  unus,  toti  acclinantes  se, 
primum  de  fronte,  sic  de  occulis  tangentes  crucem  et  titulum  et  sic  osculantes 
crucem  pertranseunt;  manum  autem  nemo  mittit  ad  tangendum. 

The  essential  of  the  ceremonial  at  Jerusalem  is  that  while  the 
bishop  holds  the  wood  of  the  Holy  Cross  firmly  in  his  hands, 
the  clergy  and  people  make  obeisance  and  kiss  it.  This  adora- 
tion of  the  true  cross  in  Jerusalem  gave  the  impulse  for  the 
adoration  of  relics  of  the  cross  elsewhere,  and  ceremonials 
clearly  modeled  upon  the  practice  of  Jerusalem  were  introduced 
into  the  West  in  the  seventh  or  eighth  century.5  Before  examin- 
ing the  content  of  these  western  ceremonials,  however,  we  may 
do  well  in  surveying  briefly  the  structure  of  the  Mass  of  Good 
Friday,  into  which  the  Adoratio  was  incorporated.6  ' 

The  Mass  of  Good  Friday  (Missa  Prczsanctijicatorum)  is 
found  not  in  the  usual  liturgical  position  of  the  daily  and  festal 
Mass, — between  Terce  and  Sext, — but  between  None  and 
Vespers.  The  office  begins  abruptly  with  two  lectiones,  the 
first  of  which  is  followed  by  a tract  and  a prayer,  and  the  second 
of  which  is  followed  by  a tract  alone.  Then  after  the  Passio 
(from  St.  John)  and  a series  of  special  Orationes,  occurs  the 
Adoratio  Crucis.  The  office  closes  with  the  fetching  of  the 
presanctified  Host,  and  the  Communio  fidelium.7  The  office  of 

4 Duchesne,  p.  510.  The  history  and  bibliography  of  this  document  are 
given  by  Duchesne,  pp.  490-492. 

5 See  Thalhofer,  I,  633;  Catholic  Encyclopaedia,  VI,  643. 

6 The  explanation  that  follows  conforms  both  to  the  mediaeval  Ordines 
Romani  and  to  the  modern  Missale  Romanum. 

7 The  general  nature  of  the  Missa  Prcesanctificalornm  is  explained  above, 
p.  10. 


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UNIVERSITY  OF  WISCONSIN  STUDIES 


Vespers  follows  immediately.  The  succession  of  liturgical 
pieces  may  be  shown  in  outline  as  follows:8 

Nona 

Missa  Praesanctificatorum 
Lectio  I 
Tractus 
Oratio 
Lectio  II 
Tractus 
Passio 

Orationes  solemnes 
Adoratio  Crucis 
[Depositio] 

COMMUNIO  FIDELIUM 

[Depositio] 

Vesperae 

[Depositio] 

With  the  general  structure  of  the  Mass  of  Good  Friday  now 
before  us,  we  may  center  our  attention  upon  the  Adoratio  Crucis 
as  observed  in  Western  Europe.  An  early  text  of  this  cere- 
monial is  forthcoming  from  the  famous  Concordia  Regidaris  of 
St.  Athelwold:9 

< ADORATIO  CRUCIS>10 

Quibus  expletis  per  ordinem,  statim  preparetur  Crux  ante  altare, 

INTERPOSITO  SPATIO  INTER  IPS  AM  et  ALTARE,  SUSTENTATA  JIINC  et  INDE  A DUOBUS 

Diaconibus.  Tunc  cantent: 

Popule  meus,  <quid  feci  tibi?  > 

Respondentes  autem  duo  Subdiaconi  stantes  ante  Crucem  canant 
grece: 

Agios  o Theos,  Agyos  ychiros,  Agios  athanathos,  eleison  ymas. 
iTEMQWe  SCHOLA  IDEPSUM  LATINE: 

Sanctus  Dews. 

DeFERATUR  TUNC  ABU  IPSIS  DlACONIBUS  ANTE  ALTARE,  et  EOS  ACCOLITUS 


8 For  purposes  of  subsequent  reference,  I insert  in  this  outline  an  indica- 
tion of  the  three  liturgical  positions  in  which  the  extra-liturgical  Depositio 
may  be  found. 

9 British  Museum,  Cotton  MS  Tiberius  A.  Ill,  fol.  18v-19v.  The  bibli- 
ography of  this  document  is  cited  below,  p.  73.  The  document  represents  the 
use  of  Winchester  in  the  tenth  century.  I print  from  the  manuscript,  with  a 
result  differing  in  no  essential  way  from  the  text  of  W.  S.  Logeman,  in  Anglia , 
Vol.  XIII  (1891),  pp.  418-421. 

10  Cotton  MS  Tiberius  A.  Ill,  fol.  18v-19v. 

11  ab]  ad  (MS). 


YOUNG — THE  EASTER  SEPULCHRE 


21 


CUM  PULUILLO  SEQUATUR  SUPER  QUEM  S<ZttC/A  CRUX  PONATUR.  AnTIPHONAQW6 

FINITA  QUAM  SCOLA  RESPONDIT  LATINE  CANANT  IBIDEM  SICUT  PRIUS : 

Quia  eduxi12  uos  per  desertum. 

Item  u ero  respondeant  Subdiaconi  grece  sicut  prius: 

Agios,  ut  supra. 

ItEMQMO  SCOLA  LATINE  UT  PRIUS: 

Sanclus  Deus. 

ItEMQMO  DlACONI  LEU  ANTES  CRUCEM  CANANT  SICUT  PRIUS: 

Quid  ultra  <debui  facere  tibi,  et  non  feci?> 

Item13  Subdiaconi  sicut  prius: 

Agyos,  ut  supra. 

iTEMQWe  SCOLA  LATINE: 

Sanctus  Deus,  ut  supra. 

Post  hec  uertentes  se  ad  clerum,  nudata  Cruce,  dicant  antiphonam: 
Ecce  lignum  crucis. 

Alia: 

Crucem  tuam  adoramus. 

Alia: 

Dum  fabricator  mundi.<fol.  19r> 

<P>ange  lingua. 

Ilico  ea  nudata,  ueniat  Abbas  ante  Crucem  scwc/am  ac  tribes  uicibus 

SE  PROSTERN  AT  CUM  OMNIBUS  Fru^IBUS  DEXTERIORIS  CHORI,  SCILICeJ  SENIORI- 

BUS  AC  IUNIORIBUS,  et  CUM  MAGNO  CORDIS  SUSPIRIO  viim  POENITENTIE  PSALMOS 

cum  or ationibu s sanctE  Cruci  competentibus  decantando14  perorcL  In 

PRIMA  QUIDEM  ORATIONE  TRES  PSALMOS  PRIMOS  CUM  ORATIONE : 

Domine  Ihesu  Xp iste,  adoro  te  in  cruce  ascendentem.  Deprecor  te  ut 
ipsa  crux  liberoJ  me  de  diabolo  percutiente. 

Domine  Ihcsu  Xp  iste,  adoro  te  ut  ipsa  uulneratum.  Deprecor  te  ut 
ipsa  uulnera  remedium  sint  anime  mee. 

Domine  Ihesu  Xpis/e,  adoro  te  descendentem  ad  inferos,  liberantem 
captiuos.  Deprecor  te  ut  non  ibi  me  dimittas  introire. 

D omine  Ihesu  Xpis/e,  adoro  te  resurgentem  ab  inferis,  ascendentem  ad 
celos.  Deprecor  te  miserere  mei. 

Domine  Ihesu  Xp  iste,  adoro  te  uenturum  iudicaturum.  Deprecor  te  ut 
in  tuo  aduentu  non  intres  in  iuditio  cum  me  peccante,  sed  deprecor  te  ut 
ante  dimittas  quam  iudices,  qui  uiuis  et  regnas. 

In  secwttDA  duos  medios  cum  sequente15  oratione: 

Domine  Ihesu  Xp  iste  gloriosissime  conditor  mundi,  qui  cum  sis  splendor 
glorie  coeternus  patri  sanctoque  spiri/ui  ideo  dignatus  es  camera  ex  in- 
macula ta  uirgine  sumere  et  gloriosas  palmas  tuas  in  crucis  patibulo  per- 
misisti  configere,  ut  claustra  dissipares  infemi  et  humanum  genus  liberares 
de  morte,  respice  et  miserere  michi  misero  obpresso  facinorum  pondere 
multarumqwc  nequitiarum  labe  polluto  no<n>  me  digneris  derelinquere. 


12  Quia  eduxi]  Qua  edux  (MS). 

13  Item]  Ite  (MS). 

14  Competentibus  decantando]  compenitentibus  decantato  (MS). 
16  medios  cum  sequente]  medioximus  sequentem  (MS). 


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UNIVERSITY  OF  WISCONSIN  STUDIES 


piissime  pater,  sed  indulge  quod  impie  gessi.  Exaudi  me  prostratum  coram 
adoranda  gloriosissima  cruce  tua,  ut  merear<fol.  19v  > tibi  mundus  ad- 
sistere  ct  placere  conspectui  tuo.  Qui  cum  patre. 

< I>N  TERTIA  ULTDIOS  DUOS  CUM  ORATIONEI 

Dews  omniipotens  Ihe^u  Xp iste,  qui  tuas  manus  mundas  propter  nos  in 
cruce  posuisti  et  de  tuo  sancto  sanguine  nos  redemisti,  mitte  in  me  sensum 
et  intelligentiam16  quomodo  habeam  ueram  penitentiam  et  habeam  bonam 
perseuerantiam  omnibus  diebws  uite  mee,  Amen. 

Et  eam  humiliter  deosculans  surgat.  Dehinc  sinisterioris  chori17 
OM«es  YRatres  eadem  mente  deuota  peragant.  Nam  salutata  ab  Abbate 
ueL  omnibus  Cruce,  redeat  ipse  Abbas  ad  sedem  suaw  usQwe  dum  omnis 

CLERUS  AC  POPULUS  HOC  IDEM  FACIAT.18 

According  to  this  or  do  the  Adoratio  opens  with  the  Impro- 
peria,  or  “Reproaches.” ' Two  deacons  supporting  the  cross 
before  the  altar  begin  these  reproaches  of  Christ  ( Popule  mens), 
to  each  of  which  two  subdeacons  respond  in  Greek,  and  the 
choir,  in  Latin.  After  the  first  of  these  responses  the  Cross 
is  laid  upon  a cushion.  After  the  singing  of  the  Improperia 
the  Cross  is  uncovered,  and  three  antiphons  and  the  hymn 
Pange  lingua  are  sung.  Then  the  Abbot,  along  with  half  the 
choir,  prostrates  himself  before  the  Cross  and  sings  the  seven 
penitential  psalms,  with  appropriate  prayers.  The  ceremony 
closes  with  the  kissing  of  the  Cross. 

Although  in  its  general  content  the  Adoratio  in  St.  Athel- 
wold’s  Concordia  is  sufficiently  representative,  we  shall  do  wrell 
in  scrutinizing  the  ceremonial  connected  with  this  observance 
also  in  Rome  itself.  Or  do  I speaks  of  it  only  very  briefly,  as 
follows  :19 

Post  orationes  praeparatur  crux  ante  altare,  interposito  spatio  inter 'ipsam 
& altare,  sustentata  hinc  inde  a duobus  acolythis,  posito  ante  eam  oratorio. 
Venit  Pontifex,  & adoratam  deosculatur  crucem;  deinde  presbyteri,  diaconi, 
subdiaconi,  & ceteri  per  ordinem;  deinde  populus.  Pontifex  vero  sedet  in 
sede,  usque  dum  omnes  salutent.  . . . Pontifex  vero  sedet  dum  persalutet 
populus  crucem.  Nam  salutante  Pontifice  vel  populo  crucem,  canitur  semper 
antiphona,  Ecce  lignum  cruets , in  quo  salus  mundi  pependit;  venite  adoremus. 
Dicitur  psalmus  cxviii:  id  est,  Beati  immaculati.  Qua  salutata  & reposita  in 
loco  suo,  descendit  Pontifex  ante  altare. 


18  intelligentiam]  intellegentiam  (MS). 

17  chori]  choris  (MS). 

18  Followed  immediately  by  a version  of  the  Deposilio,  as  printed  below,  p. 
73. 

19  Mabilkm,  II,  23. 

i 


YOUNG — THE  EASTER  SEPULCHRE 


23 


The  first  of  the  Roman  ordines  really  to  outline  the  liturgical 
content  of  the  Adoratio  is  Or  do  XIV,  which  offers  the  following:20 

Finitis  orationibus,  procedit  Pontifex  ad  altare;  & stans  ad  dextrum  cornu 
altaris  accipit  Crucem  a ministris  sibi  praeparatam  sindone  munda  coopertam; 
& discooperiens  earn  a summitate,  elevatis  manibus  solus  incipit  antiphonam, 
Ecce  lignum  cruets,  adjuvantibus  eum  in  cantu  qui  assistunt  ei.  Cum  autem 
Venite  adoremus  cantaverint,  omnes  prostrati  reverenter  adorent,  & usque  ad 
terram  se  inclinent;  & repetitur  antiphona,  Ecce  lignum,  &c.  a cantoribus  in 
choro.  Iterum  Pontifex  paululum  procedens,  & Crucem  ad  medietatem  dis- 
cooperiens, amplius  elevatis  manibus,  exaltando  vocem,  eamdem  antiphonam 
solus  incipit,  in  cantando  juvantibus  eum  qui  circa  ipsum  sunt;  & secundo  a can- 
toribus antiphona  repetitur.  Et  tertio  procedit  Pontifex  ante  altare,  disco- 
operiens Crucem  totam,  erectis  sursum  manibus  altius  incipit,  Ecce  lignum 
crucis;  & tertio  a cantoribus  repetitur  antiphona;  & tertio  dum  cantatur  Venite 
adoremus , adoratur  ab  omnibus.  Tunc  Pontifex  cum  chirothecis  nondum 
extractis  deponit  manibus  suis  Crucem  super  stratum  pallium  & mundissima 
linteamina  ad  radicem  altaris,  & discalceatus  tertio  prostratus  solus  Crucem 
adorat;  quo  facto,  revertitur  ad  sedem  suam,  & ibi  recipit  deposita  calcia- 
menta.  . . . Postmodum  omnis  chorus  ordinate  adorent.  Interim  autem 
cantores  cantent  vicissim,  Agios,  repetentes,  Sanctus  Deus,  sanclus  fortis,  &c.; 
antiphona<m>,  Popule  mens,  quia  eduxi  te  de  terra.  Quid  ultra  debui  facer e, 
cum  toto  improperio;  & alias  antiphonas,  Adoramus  te  Christe,  Crucem  tuam, 
& Salva  nos  Christe,  salva;  & psalmus,  Deus  misereatur,  & hymnus,  Pange,  & 
Crux  fidelis.  Finita  adoratione  Crucis,  sacrista  vel  alius  ad  hoc  deputatus 
deponit  Crucem  in  suo  loco  super  altare,  & accendit  luminaria  in  altare. 

In  its  liturgical  elements  this  ordo  does  not  differ  fundamen- 
tally from  that  furnished  in  St.  Athelwold’s  Concordia.  The 
variation  between  them  in  sequence  and  in  details  of  content 
is  not  important.  Although  Ordo  XIV  does  not  mention  the 
actual  kissing  of  the  Cross,  we  may  assume  that  the  prostration 
before  the  Cross  includes  this  additional  act  also. 

Another  of  the  Ordines  Romani  may  be  cited  here,  not  for 
indications  as  to  the  liturgical  content  of  the  Adoratio  itself, 
but  rather  for  a description  of  the  ceremonial  preceding  and 
following.  In  Ordo  XII  we  find  these  rubrics:21 

Feria  fexta  in  Parasceve,  in  aurora  dominus  Papa  facit  omnes  capellanos 
coram  sua  prsesentia  evocari,  & voce  mediocri  cantat  psalterium;  quo  cantato, 
revertuntur  capellani.  Sexta  vero  hora  dominus  Papa  cum  omnibus  cardinali- 
bus  intrat  basilicam  sancti  Laurentii;  & facta  oratione,  ibi  accedit  ad  altare;  & 


20  Mabillon,  II,  368-369. 

21  Mabillon,  II,  181-182,  183. 


24 


UNIVERSITY  OF  WISCONSIN  STUDIES 


aperto  altari  extrahit  inde  capita  apostolorum  Petri  & Pauli,  & duas  cruces.22 
Quae  omnia  postquam  dominus  Papa  cum  cardinalibus  osculatus  fuerit,  reponit 
ibidem;  & accepta  una  cruce,  & iterum  sigillato  altari,  unus  presbyterorum 
cardinalium  Crucem  accipit,  & fic  vadit  usque  ad  ecclesiam  Lateranensem,  sine 
aliquo  cantu  & psalmis;  factaque  ibi  oratione  ascendit  cathedram  post  altare. 
Tunc  dominus  Papa  induit  quadragesimalia  indumenta,  & excalceatur.  Epis- 
copi  vero  induunt  pluvialia,  presbyteri  autem  cardinales  & diaconi  atque  sub- 
diaconi  induunt  planetam.  Et  deinde  juniori  presbytero  cardinali  accepto 
Corpore  Christi  in  capsella  ante  pectus  suum  hesterna  die  reservato,  & alio 
praedictam  Crucem  accipiente,  & subdiacono  regionario  cum  populo  suo  prae- 
cedente,  omnes  discalceati  cum  domino  Papa  & primicerio,  sine  cantu  psallendo 
psalterium  pergunt  ad  Sanctam  Crucem23  . . . CLectiones,  Passio,  Ora- 
tiones>  . . . Finitis  ora tionibus,  Pontif ex  procedit  ad  altare,  & adorat  Crucem 
cum  aliis,  sicut  in  Ordine  continetur.  Sciendum  tamen,  quod  secundum  anti- 
quam  consuetudinem,  quidquid  super  Crucem  offertur,  Scholae  Cruris  debet 
esse.  Osculata  vero  Cruce  a clero  & populo,  dominus  Papa  revertitur  ad 
altare  . . . <Communio  et  Vesperae>  . . . Et  deinde  revertitur  ad  pala- 
tium;24  & intrans  Basilicam  Sancti  Laurentii,25  Crucem  quam  acceperat  ab 
altari,  reponit. 

For  our  present  purpose  the  significance  of  this  ceremonial 
lies  in  the  two  processions,  one  preceding  the  Missa  Prcesanctifi- 
catorum  and  the  other  following  Vespers.  The  papal  station 
for  Good  Friday  is  the  Basilica  Sanctae  Crucis  (Santa  Croce  in 
Gerusalemme.  Before  proceeding  from  the  Lateran  Palace 
to  this  church,  however,  the  Pope  enters  the  Capella  Sancti 
Laurentii  (Sancta  Sanctorum),26  adjoining  the  Palace,  and 
taking  a cross  from  a chest  under  the  altar,  proceeds  with  it  to 
the  Church  of  the  Lateran.  Thence  the  procession,  bearing 
the  cross  from  the  Sancta  Sanctorum  and  a reserved  Host  from 
the  Church  of  the  Lateran,  moves  out  through  the  city  to  the 
Basilica  Sanctae  Crucis.  The  Cross  serves  for  the  Adoratio 

22  Concerning  these  relics  see  H.  Grisar,  Die  romische  Kapelle.  Sancta 
Sanctorum  und  ihr  Schatz,  Freiburg,  1908,  pp.  39-108. 

23  This  is  the  Basilica  Sanctae  Crucis,  or  Santa  Croce  in  Gerusalemme. 

24  The  Lateran  Palace. 

25  The  Basilica  Sancti  Laurentii,  or  Sancta  Sanctorum  is  a private  chapel 
at  the  Lateran,  as  is  explained  below. 

26  For  a description  and  history  of  this  chapel  and  its  relics  see  Grisar,  pp. 
11-108;  M.  Armellini,  Le  Chiese  di  Roma  dal  secolo  IV  al  XIX , Rome,  1891,  pp. 
108-112;  H.  Marucchi,  Elements  d’Archeologie  chretienne,Xo\.  Ill  ( Basiliques  et 
Eglises  de  Rome),  Paris  and  Rome,  1902,  pp.  101-102;  Johannis  Diaconi  Liber 
de  Ecclesia  Lateranensi,  cap.  xiv,  in  Mabillon,  II,  572-573.  This  famous  chapel 
of  St.  Laurence,  or  Sancta  Sanctorum,  was  the  private  chapel  of  the  Popes  during 
the  centuries  of  their  residence  at  the  Lateran. 


YOUNG — THE  EASTER  SEPULCHRE 


25 


Crucis27  and  the  Host,  for  the  Communion  of  the  Missa  Prcc- 
sanctificatorum.  After  Vespers  have  been  sung  at  the  Basilica 
Sanctae  Crucis,  the  Pope  carries  the  Cross  in  procession  back 
to  the  Sancta  Sanctorum  and  restores  it  to  its  place  under  the 
altar.28 

Although  the  details  of  this  ordo  are  highly  satisfying  in  their 
completeness,  the  relatively  late  date  of  Ordo  XII  (twelfth 
century)  suggests  the  desirability  of  examining  a similar  text 
of  the  eighth  century  from  Einsiedeln:29 

Fer.  vi,  hora  quasi  viii,  descendit  domnus  apostolicus  de  Lateranis  in  sanc- 
tum Johannem,  verumtamen  discalceatus  tam  ipse  quam  reliqui  ministri 
sanctae  ecclesiae,  et  veniunt  ad  altare.  Et  praecipit  domnus  apostolicus 
accendere  lumen  in  ungiario,  et  accendit  ex  ipso  lumen  cui  ipse  iusserit  duas 
faculas  albas,  quas  portant  duo  clerici  de  cubiculo  ante  domnum.  Et  procedent 
de  sancto  Johanne  psallendo  Beati  immaculati,  archidiacono  tenente  sinistram 
manum  domni  apostolici,  et  ipso  pontifice  in  dextfera  sua  portante  turibulum 
cum  incenso  et  alio  diacono  post  dorsum  domni  apostolici  portante  lignum 
pretiosae  crucis  in  capsa  de  auro  cum  gemmis  ornata.  Crux  vero  ipsa  de  ligno 
pretioso  desuper  ex  auro  cum  gemmis  intus  cavam  habens  confectionem  ex 
balsamo  satis  bene  olente.  Et  dum  preveniunt  ad  Hierusalem30  intrant  eccle- 
siam,  et  ponit  diaconus  ipsam  capsam  ubi  est  crux  super  altare  et  sic  aperit  earn 
domnus  apostolicus.  Deinde  prosternit  se  ante  altare  ad  orationem:  et  post- 
quam  surgit  osculatur  earn  et  vadit  et  stat  circa  sedem.  Et  per  eius  iussionem 
osculantur  episcopi,  presbiteri,  diaconi,  subdiaconi  super  altare  ipsam  crucem. 
Deinde  ponunt  earn  super  arcellam  ad  rugas  et  ibi  osculatur  earn  reliquus 
populus.  Tamen  feminae  ibi  non  introeunt;  sed  postea  portant  earn  oblati  et 
alii  subdiaconi  et  osculatur  a feminis.  Verumtamen  ut  a domno  apostolico 
fuerit  osculata,  statim  ascendit  subdiaconus  in  ambonem  et  incipit  legere 
lectionem  Oseae  prophetae.  Post  cuius  descensum  ascendit  cantor  et  canit 
gr(aduale)  Domine  audivi  cum  versibus  suis.  Et  iterum  ascendit  subdiaconus 
et  legit  aliam  lectionem  Deuteronomii;  post  quern  cantor  ascendens  incipit 
tractatum  Qui  habitat.  Quo  completo  vadit  diaconus  discalceatus  cum  evan- 
gelio,  et  cum  eo  duo  subdiaconi,  et  legit  passionem  Domini  secundum  Johannem. 
Et  cum  completa  fuerit,  dicit  domnus  apostolicus  orationem  Or  emus  pro  ecclesia 


27  Concerning  the  Adoratio  Crucis  at  Santa  Croce  in  Gerusalemme  see 
Armellini,  p.  800;  Marucchi,  p.  347. 

28  This  procession  back  from  Santa  Croce  to  the  Sancta  Sanctorum  is 
described  by  A.  De  Santi,  II  Mattino  di  Pasqua  nella  Storia  liturgica,  Rome, 
1917,  p.  12.  This  monograph  is  a revision  of  an  article  published  in  Civiltd 
Cattolica  (1907),  Vol.  II,  p.  3-22. 

29  Printed  from  Einsiedeln  MS  326  by  G.  B.  De  Rossi,  Inscriptions  Chris- 
tiani  Urbis  Romae,  Vol.  II,  Rome,  1888,  p.  34. 

30  This  is  the  Basilica  Sanctae  Crucis — the  modern  church  Santa  Croce 
in  Gerusalemme. 


26 


UNIVERSITY  OF  WISCONSIN  STUDIES 


sancta  Dei,  et  dicit  archidiaconus  Flectamus  genua,  et  postea  dicit  Levate,  et 
reliqua  omnia  in  ordine  suo.  Et  ad  finem  tantum  dicit  Dominus  vobiscum  et 
respondent  Et  cum  spiritu  tuo.  Et  procedent  iterum  ad  Lateranis  psallendo 
Beati  immaculati.  Attamen  apostolicus  ibi  non  communicat  nec  diaconi;  qui 
vero  communicare  voluerit  communicat  de  capsis  de  sacrificio  quod  v feria 
servatum  est.  Et  qui  noluerit  ibi  communicare  vadit  per  alias  ecclesias  Romae 
seu  per  titulos  et  communicat. 

This  document  is  particularly  generous  in  its  description  of 
the  Cross  itself31  and  of  the  actual  Adoratio.  One  notes,  how- 
ever, the  absence  of  reference  to  the  fetching  of  the  Cross  from 
the  Sancta  Sanctorum  and  to  the  subsequent  depositing  of  it 
again  in  the  altar  of  this  Lateran  chapel.  Nevertheless,  in 
view  of  the  fact  that  the  Cross  employed  is  undoubtedly  identi- 
cal with  that  mentioned  in  Ordo  XII,  the  processions' from  the 
Sancta  Sanctorum  and  back  again  are  inevitable.  The  cere- 
monials of  the  Einsiedeln  document  and  of  Ordo  XII  are 
essentially  similar.32 

From  the  information  now  before  us  we  may  make  some 
estimate  of  the  possible  influence  of  the  Adoratio  upon  the 
Depositio.  At  least  three  of  the  documents  cited  above33 
record  established  ceremonials  earlier  than  the  date  of  the  first 
recorded  examples  of  the  Depositio ;34  and  in  these  documents 
are  several  suggestions  toward  the  dramatic  office  under  con- 
sideration.35 In  the  first  place,  since  the  Adoratio  itself  is  a 
vivid  commemoration  of  the  Crucifixion,  nothing  could  be  more 
natural  than  that  a vivid  commemoration  of  the  Burial  should 
be  invented  as  a sequel  to  the  Adoratio.  Any  taking  down  of 
the  Cross  after  the  ceremony  of  the  Adoratio  must  inevitably 
suggest  a representation  of  the  burial  of  the  crucified  Christ 

31  This  description  is  mentioned  by  Grisar  (p.  70),  whose  own  complete 
and  scientific  description  of  the  reliefs  found  on  pp.  62-82  of  the  monograph 
mentioned  above. 

32  For  our  present  study  there  is  no  significance  in  the  altered  position  of  the 
Adoratio  in  the  Einsiedeln  or do — before  the  lectiones  of  the  Missa  Prccsanctifica- 
torum  rather  than  after  the  Orationes  solemnes. 

33  The  Peregrinatio  Etheriae,  Ordo  Romanus  I,  and  Da  Rossi’s  Ordo  from 
Einsiedeln. 

34  We  hear  of  the  Depositio  first  in  the  latter  half  of  the  tenth  century.  See 
above,  p.  14,  and  below,  p.  73. 

35 1 do  not,  of  course,  mean  to  suggest  that  versions  of  the  Adoratio  later 
than  the  tenth  century  could  not  have  influenced  versions  of  the  Depositio  of  a 
later  date. 


YOUNG — THE  EASTER  SEPULCHRE 


27 


Himself.36  Moreover  the  carrying  back  of  the  Cross  from  the 
Adoratio  in  Santa  Croce  in  Gerusalemme  to  the  chest  under  the 
altar  of  the  Sancta  Sanctorum  may  fairly  be  regarded  as  a 
conscious  ceremonial  of  burial.  In  view  of  the  wide-spread 
symbolizing  of  the  altar  as  a tomb,37  this  procession  inevitably 
suggests  a cortege  to  a grave.38  Whatever  may  have  been  the 
early  practice  elsewhere,  the  conspicuous  ceremonial  of  Rome 
alone  was  quite  adequate  for  suggesting  the  invention  of  a 
commemoration  of  Christ’s  burial  in  the  dramatic  form  of  a 
Depositio . 

But  the  intimacy  of  the  relation  between  the  Roman  litur- 
gical use  and  the  extra-liturgical  dramatic  offices  of  the  sepul- 
chrum  is  further  to  be  discerned  in  what  the  Ordines  Romani 
offer  for  Easter  morning  in  the  way  of  sequel  to  the  laying  down 
of  the  Cross  after  the  Adoratio  Crucis  of  Good  Friday.  This 
sequel,  which  occurs  in  the  Sancta  Sanctorum  immediately 
after  Prime,  before  the  Pope’s  departure  for  Mass  at  the 
Church  of  Santa  Maria  Maggiore,  is  described  in  Ordo  Romanus 
XII  as  follows:39 

In  die  Paschas  mane  post  Primam  indutus  albo  pluviali  Romanus  Pontifex, 
cum  diaconi*  cardinalibus  indutis,  cum  subdiaconis  ceterisque  minoribus 
ordinibus,  dalmaticis,  & mitris,  & tunicis  indutis,  & cappelanis  suis,  vadit  ad 
basilicam  sancti  Laurentii.  Presbyteri  cardinales  induunt  se  planetis,  episcopi 
pluvialibus  in  loco,  qui  dicitur  basilica  sancti  Gregorii;  ubi  post  orationem 

36  It  is  only  fair  to  observe  that  the  Cross  used  in  the  papal  Adoratio  at 
Santa  Croce  in  Gerusalemme  bears  no  figure  of  the  Corpus  itself.  See  Grisar, 

pp.  62-82. 

37  See  above,  p.  16. 

38  De  Santi  considers  this  procession — as  prescribed  in  the  passage  quoted 
above  from  Ordo  XII — to  be  a deliberate  symbolical  representation  of  Christ’s 
burial  in  a sepulchrum , as  he  shows  in  the  following  words  (p.  12):  “Questa 
riposizione  non  deve  passare  inosservata,  perche  ci  sembra  l’unico  accenno  nelle 
consuetudini  pontificie  all’  uso  assai  largamente  sparso  nelle  altre  Chiese  di 
deporre  solennemente  la  croce  adorata  nella  funzione  del  venerdi  santo  in  una 
specie  de  sepolcro  che  allestivasi  a questo  intento,  conservandola  quivi  devota- 
mente  fino  al  momento  della  risurrezione  nel  mattino  di  Pasqua.”  De  Santi 
seems  to  regard  the  Roman  procession  as  a definite  example  of  the  Deposilio. 
I have  remarked  above  (p.  26)  that  although  this  procession  is  not  explicitly 
prescribed  in  the  earlier  Ordines  Romani , it  was,  from  the  circumstances, 
inevitable. 

39  Mabillon,  II,  184-185.  This  ceremony  is  the  special  subject  of  considera- 
tion in  the  monograph  of  De  Santi  (see  particularly  pp.  1 1-16) . See  also  Grisar, 
p.  43;  Armellini,  p.  Ill;  Marucchi,  pp.  67,  102. 


28 


UNIVERSITY  OF  WISCONSIN  STUDIES 


induitur  usque  ad  dalmaticam;  & exsurgens  ingreditur  ad  adorandum  Salva- 
torem.  Aperit  imaginem,  osculatur  pedes  Salvatoris,  dicens  alta  voce  tribus 
vicbus,  Surrexit  Dominus  de  sepulcro;  & omnes  ei  respondent:  Qui  pro  nobis 
pependit  in  ligno,  Alleluia.  Tunc  acolythi  ponunt  crucem  cepellse  super  altare, 
& dominus  Papa  adorat  earn.  Post  osculationem  Salvatoris,  cum  omnibus 
aliis  deinde  redit  ad  sedem,  & dat  pacem  archidiacono  redeunti  ab  osculo  pedum 
ejus  imaginis,  dicens,  Surrexit  Dominus  vcre;  & ille  respondet,  Et  apparuit 
Simoni.  Secundus  quoque  diaconus  osculatis  pedibus  Salvatoris,  accedit  ad 
pacem  summi  Pontificis  & archidiaconi,  & ponit  se  in  filo;  ceteri  vero  diaconi 
cardinales  similiter  faciunt.  Deinde  primicerius  cum  cantoribus  eo  modo  ad 
pacem  vadit,  & in  filo  se  dirigit.  Prior  quoque  basilicae  cum  diaconis  similiter; 
postmodum  subdiaconi  regionarii  cum  acolythis  & capellanis,  & aliis  palatinis 
ordinibus,  eodem  modo  pacem  faciunt.  Interim  schola  canit,  Crucifixum  in 
came , & Ego  sum  alpha  & omega. 

This  ceremony  consists  primarily  in  the  kissing  of  the  feet 
of  the  famous  painting  of  Christ  known  as  the  Acheropoiita 
(“Not  made  by  the  hand  of  man”),40  a figure  of  life  size  painted 
upon  a panel  of  wood  against  the  wall  behind  the  altar.  It 
appears  that  at  all  periods  the  painting  was  protected  by  some 
sort  of  covering;41  and  the  ordo  before  us  implies  such  protection 
in  the  words  aperit  imaginem , which  indicate  the  exposing  of 
the  feet  of  the  figure  in  order  that  they  may  be  kissed.  After 
the  triple  singing  of  the  versicle  Surrexit  Dominus , a cross  is 
placed  upon  the  altar  for  adoration.  If  this  is  the  cross  pre- 
viously used  in  the  Adoratio , it  must  have  been  taken  up  from 
the  relic-chest  under  the  altar.42  The  ceremony  closes  with  the 
Kiss  of  Peace. 

This  papal  observance  on  Easter  morning  reinforces  the 
ceremonial  of  Good  Friday  in  providing  a model  for  the  extra- 
liturgical  Depositio  and  Elevatio  that  we  are  to  consider.  Just 
as  the  return  of  the  Cross  to  the  altar  of  the  Sancta  Sanctorum 
on  Good  Friday  suggests  the  Depositio , so  the  observance  at 
this  same  altar  on  Easter  morning  offers  a parallel  to  the  Ele~ 
vatio.  Although  the  kissing  of  the  feet  of  the  Acheropoiita 


40  The  most  adequate  description  of  this  relic  known  to  me  is  that  given 
by  Grisar,  pp.  39-54.  See  also  Armellini,  p.  Ill;  Marucchi,  p.  102. 

41  The  earliest  extant  reference  to  the  Acheropoiita  is  from  the  eighth 
century.  A covering  of  silver  was  provided  by  Innocent  III  (1198-1216). 
The  nature  of  the  earlier  coverings  is  obscure.  See  Grisar,  p.  41 . 

42  Whether  or  not  this  cross  is  the  one  used  previously  on  Good  Friday,  it 
was  almost  certainly  elevated  from  the  relic-chest  under  the  altar.  The  two 
important  crosses  kept  in  this  chest  are  described  by  Grisar,  pp.  58-97. 


YOUNG — THE  EASTER  SEPULCHRE 


29 


seems  to  establish  no  particular  bond  with  the  Elevatio , the 
adoring  of  the  elevated  cross  and  the  giving  of  the  Pax  will  be 
frequently  paralleled  in  the  dramatic  texts  to  be  considered.43 

Since  a knowledge  of  the  liturgical  uses  of  Rome  must  have 
been  widely  disseminated,  we  are  amply  justified  in  citing  the 
papal  ceremonies  as  possible  sources  for  the  Depositio  and 
Elevatio.  We  have  already  observed  that  the  Roman  Adoratio 
Crucis  antedates  the  (earliest  versions  of  the  Deposition  Al- 
though the  papal  ceremony  of  Easter  morning  cited  above 
comes  from  documents  later  than  the  earliest  manifestations  of 
the  Elevatio, Ab  it  is  highly  probable  that  this  ceremony  is  much 
older  than  these  particular  documents;  and  in  any  case,  even 
though  this  particular  ceremony  may  not  be  among  the  ultimate 
origins  of  the  Elevatio , it  may  well  have  influenced  the  dramatic 
office  at  some  period  of  its  career. 


Ill 

From  a consideration  of  the  origins  of  the  Depositio  and 
Elevatio  I now  pass  to  the  examination  of  actual  texts  of  these 
dramatic  offices.  For  convenience,  I shall  divide  the  versions 
before  me  into  three  groups.  Into  the  first  group  fall  the 
versions  in  which  the  object  “buried”  is  the  Host,  in  the  second 
group  of  versions  this  central  object  is  the  Cross,  and  in  the 
versions  of  the  third  group  are  found  both  the  Host  and  the 
Cross.  In  arranging  the  texts  within  each  group  I shall  pro- 
ceed, in  general,  from  the  simple  to  the  more  complex.  Hence 
I am  guided  not  so  much  by  chronology  of  documents  as  by 
relative  amplitude  of  liturgical  content  and  of  ceremonial. 
One  scarcely  need  remark  that  the  simpler,  and  often  earlier, 
versions  are  sometimes  preserved  in  documents  later  than  those 
containing  examples  of  a more  complex  development.  I do 
not,  however,  insist  that  the  order  in  which  I present  the 
several  versions,  and  groups  of  versions,  demonstrably  repre- 

43  For  example,  see  below,  pp.  99-101,  103,  108,  124. 

44  See  above,  p.  26. 

45  Ordo  Romanus  XII  from  which  I quote  above  is  of  the  twelfth  century, 
as  is  also  Ordo  Romanus  XI,  which  also  describes  the  papal  ceremony  under 
consideration. 


30 


UNIVERSITY  OF  WISCONSIN  STUDIES 


sents  the  precise  historical  evolution.  For  such  a demonstra- 
tion the  historical  data  are,  as  yet,  insufficient.  The  following 
survey,  then,  attempts  not  so  much  to  establish  an  historical 
sequence  as  to  present  an  orderly  exposition. 

In  the  present  section  of  this  study  I shall  examine  those 
versions  of  the  Depositio  and  Elevatio 1 in  which  is  buried  the 
Host  alone. 

The  simplest  example  in  this  group  is  the  following  Elevatio 
of  the  eleventh  century  from  St.  Gall:1 2 

< ELEVATIO  HOSTLE>3 

SUBLATO  IGITUR  CORPORE  DoWINI  DE  MONUMENTO  INCIP iat  CANTOR  R espotl- 
siorium: 

Angelus  Domini  descend?'/ <de  coelo  et  accedens  revolvit  lapidem,  et 
super  eum  sedit,  et  dixit  mulieribus:  Nolite  timere;  scio  enim  quia  cruci- 
fixum  queritis;  jam  surlexit,  venite  et  videte  locum  ubi  posit  us  erat  Domi- 
nus,  alleluia.  Versus:  Angelus  Domini  locutus  est  mulieribus  dicens: 
Quern  queritis,  an  Ihesum  queritis?  Jam  surrexit.>4 

Intr antibus  AUtem  in  CHORum  incip iat  Cantor  axtiphcwow: 

Surrexit  Xpictus  et  illuxit  populo  suo,  quern  redemit  sanguine  suo, 
a<ll>e<l>uia. 

Versus: 

Haec  est  alma  dies  in  qua  spoliatur  auernus; 

Resurrexit  homo  Deus,  exultate  redempti. 

Te  Deum  Laudamus.5 

This  brief  text  prescribes  merely  the  raising  of  the  Corpus 
Domini  from  the  sepulchrum , after  which  the  procession  from 
the  place  of  burial  proceeds  to  the  choir  during  the  singing  of 
the  reponsory  Angelus  Domini.  As  the  procession  enters  the 

1 Throughout  this  study  I shall  consider  the  Depositio  and  Elevatio  in  con- 
junction, and,  as  far  as  possible,  shall  allow  the  two  offices  to  elucidate  each  other. 
Unhappily,  however,  a good  many  of  the  documents  happen  to  preserve  only 
one  of  the  two  offices.  It  should,  of  course,  be  remembered  that  the  absence  of 
either  of  the  offices  from  a manuscript  does  not  prove  its  absence  from  the  use 
of  the  church  concerned. 

2 St.  Gall,  Stiftsbibliothek,  MS  387,  Breviarium  Sangallense  saec.  xi,  p.  55. 
The  Elevatio  from  this  manuscript  was  first  published  by  the  present  writer  in 
Transactions  of  the  Wisconsin  Academy,  XVI,  Part  II,  pp.  897-898.  The 
manuscript  contains  neither  Depositio  nor  Visitatio  Sepulchri. 

3 St.  Gall  MS  387,  p.  55.  In  the  manuscript  this  text  is  immediately  pre- 
ceded by  the  responsory  Dum  transisset,  the  last  responsory  of  Easter  Matins. 

4 This  responsory  is  commonly  found  as  the  first  of  Easter  Matins.  See 
Migne,  Pat.  Lat.,  LXXVIII,  769. 

5 Followed  immediately  by  the  rubric  In  Matutinis  Laudibus. 


YOUNG — THE  EASTER  SEPULCHRE 


31 


choir  the  antiphon  Surrexit  Christus  is  sung.  The  two  hexa- 
meters Haec  est  alma  . . . redempti  are  probably  to  be  regarded 
as  a trope  of  the  Te  Deum  Laudamus .6  It  is  to  be  observed, 
howxver,  that  these  lines  contain  a suggestion  of  the  theme  of 
the  Harrowing  of  Hell,  a theme  that  forms  a prominent  part 
of  some  of  the  more  highly  developed  versions  of  the  Elevatio."1 

Particularly  noticeable  is  the  liturgical  position  of  this  text: 
between  the  third  reponsory  and  the  Te  Deum  at  the  end  of 
Easter  Matins.  This  is  the  position  commonly  occupied  by  the 
Visitatio  Sepulchri , the  Elevatio  being  found,  almost  without 
exception,  before  the  beginning  of  Matins.  Since  the  present 
text  of  the  Elevatio  is  a relatively  early  one,  and  since  Durandus 
assures  us  that  the  Te  Deum  of  Easter  Matins  is  to  be  inter- 
preted as  marking  the  moment  of  the  Resurrection,8  it  may  be 
that  the  St.  Gall  version  represents  an  early  usage.  If  Duran- 
dus’  symbolizing  of  the  Easter  Te  Deum  is  authentic  for  the  early 
Middle  Ages,  the  Elevatio  is  most  appropriately  placed  at  this 
point  in  the  liturgy.  It  is  entirely  possible  that  this  is  an  early 
arrangement,  and  that  the  Visitatio  Sepulchri  took  this  position 
only  after  the  Elevatio  had  relinquished  it.9 

The  following  is  a simple  version  of  the  Depositio  from  the 
use  of  Constance:10 

< DEPOS  IT  10  HOST  LE  > 11 

Post  Cowwmmionem  legantur  Vespers  sub  silentio. 

His  omnibus  peractis,  procedunt  cum  Corpore  Domini  ad  locum  ubi 
debet  recondi,  nihil  cant  antes;  sed  dum  venitur  ad  locum,  cantor  im- 
ponit  an tiphonam: 


6 See  L.  Gautier,  Les  Tropes , Paris,  1886,  p.  170. 

7 See  below,  for  example,  pp.  90-91,  111-118. 

8 Treating  the  liturgical  practices  at  the  end  of  Easter  Matins,  Durandus 
(f 1296)  observes  ( Rationale  Divinorum  Officiorum  Lyons,  1559,  fol.  372v) : Te 
Deum  laudamus  exprimit  horam  qua  resurrexit. 

9 See  also  the  version  from  Gran,  below,  p.  123.  I explain  below  (pp.  127- 
130)  my  belief  that  the  Visitatio  Sepulchri  developed  at  the  sepulchrum  later 
than  did  the  Depositio  and  Elevatio. 

10  Agenda  seu  Obsequiale , Simul  ac  Benedictionale,  iuxta  ritum  et  nor  mam 
Ecclesiae  at  Ep-iscopatus  Constantiensis,  1570,  fol.  xciiiiv-xcvir.  I have  found 
copies  of  this  book  in  the  Royal  Library,  Munich,  in  the  British  Museum,  and 
in  the  library  of  Quarr  Abbey,  Isle  of  Wight.  Lange  (p.  7)  cites  a copy  in  the 
Stadtbibliothek,  Zurich,  and  prints  (p.  47)  the  Visitatio  Sepulchri  from  it  (fol. 
cxxiv-cxxiiiv) . The  book  contains  no  Elevatio. 

11  Agenda  . . . Episcopalus  Constantiensis.  1570,  fol.  xciiiiv-xcvir. 


32 


UNIVERSITY  OF  WISCONSIN  STUDIES 


In  pace  in  idipsum  dormiaw  et<fol.  xcvr>requiescaw.12 

Alia  an tiphona: 

Caro  mea  requiescet  in  spe.13 

In  Redituw  ad  choruw  canitur  Responsorium : 

Sepulto  Domino,  signatuw  est  monumentuw,  voluewtes  lapidem  ad 
ostium  monumenti;<fol.  xcvv>ponentes  milites  qui  custodirent  eum. 
Versus:  Ne  forte  veniant  discupli  eius  et  furentur  eum  et  dicawt  plebi: 
Surrexit  a mortuis.  Ponen<fol.  xcvir>tes  milites.14 

In  this  version  of  the  Depositio  the  ceremonial  is  very  simple. 
At  the  close  of  Vespers,  during  the  singing  of  the  antiphons 
In  pace  in  idipsum  and  Caro  mea , the  Host  is  carried  to  the 
locus  where  it  is  to  be  hidden.  For  the  laying  down  of  the  Host 
no  rubrics  are  given.  The  processional  for  the  return  to  the 
choir  is  the  reponsory  Sepulto  Domino. 

In  the  Ordinarium  of  the  year  1580  for  the  use  of  Gran,  in 
Hungary,  we  find  definite  provision  made  for  the  reservation  on 
Holy  Thursday  of  two  Hosts  for  Good  Friday:  one  for  the 
Missa  Prcesanctificatorum  and  one  for  burial  in  th e sepulchrum:15 

< IN  CCEN  A DOM  IN I> 16 

Et  pro  die  crastina  consecrantur  Hostile  dtle:  altera  quam  sump- 
turus  est  Epicopus  vel  Sacerdos  offictum  peracturus,  altera  quje  repon- 
ETUR  IN  SePULCHRUW. 

After  Vespers  on  Good  Friday  the  Depositio  was  performed 
as  follows: 

< DEPOSIT  10  HOSTLE>17 

Demum18  Pontifex19  vel  sacerdos  officians,  exuta  casula,  portans  in 


12  First  antiphon  of  Matins  of  Holy  Saturday.  See  Migne,  Pat.  Lat., 
LXXVIII,  767. 

13  Third  antiphon  of  Matins  of  Holy  Saturday.  See  id.,  col.  768. 

14  Followed  immediately  by  the  rubric:  Ordo  in  Vigilia  Paschae. 

15  Ordinarium  officii  Divini  secundum  consuetudinem  M etropolitanae  Eccle- 
siae  Strigoniensis,  Tirnaviae,  1580,  sig.  H 7 recto.  I use  the  copy  in  the  British 
Museum.  The  Depositio  from  this  book  is  now  reprinted,  I believe,  for  the 
first  time.  The  Elevatio  and  Visitatio  have  been  reprinted  by  Lange,  in  Zeit- 
schrift  fur  deutsches  Alterlum,  XLI  (1897),  p.  81.  The  uses  attached  to  the 
sepulchrum  in  Hungary  are  treated  by  J.  Danko,  in  0 ester reichische  Viertel- 
jahresschrift  fur  katholische  Theologie,  1872,  pp.  103-136,  175-208.  The  Deposi- 
tio and  Elevatio  are  considered  by  Dank6  on  pp.  175-190  passim. 

16  Ordinarium  . . . Ecclesiae  Strigoniensis,  Tirnaviae,  1580,  sig.  H 7 recto. 

17  Id.,  sig.  I 4 recto. 

18  Preceded  immediately  by  Vespers. 

19  Pontifex]  Pontefex  (Print). 


YOUNG — THE  EASTER  SEPULCHRE 


33 


MANIBUS  ALTERAM  HOSTIAM  CONSECRATAM  QU^  PRO  SEPULTURA  HERI  FUIT 
RESERUATA,  IN  PATENA  SUPRA  CALICEM  COLLOCATAM,  PALLA  & LINTEOLO  TEC- 
TAM,  DESCENDIT  CUM  MINISTRIS  VERSUS  SEPULCHRUM,  PRAECEDENTIBUS  CERO- 
FERARIIS  & TURRIBULO,  QUOD  SEMEL  CIRCUMIT.  DeINDE  REPONIT  IN  ILLUD 
EANDEM  HOSTIAM  UNA  CUM  CALICE,  CLAUDIT,  OBSIGNAT,  & PER  CIRCUITUM 
INCENSAT,  CHORO  CANT  ANTE  RESPONSORIA: 

Hierusalem,  luge,  <et  exue  te  vestibus  jucunditatis;  induere  cinere  cum 
cilicio,  quia  in  te  est  occisus  Salvator  Israel.  Versus:  Montes  Gelboe, 
nec  ros,  nec  pluvia  super  vos  descendat.  Quia.  > 20 

et: 

Sepulto  Domino. 

Quibus  completis  cantat  versus:  Adoramus  te,  Christe,  etc.;  Omnis 
terra,  etc.;  et  orationem:  Deus,  qui  pro  nobis.  Completorium  hora  con- 

SUETA  LEGITUR  UT  HERI. 

The  ceremonial  is  here  described  in  some  detail.  In  the 
procession  to  the  sepulchrum  the  bishop  carries  the  Host  upon 
a paten  placed  over  the  mouth  of  a chalice,  the  whole  being 
covered  with  cloths.  Eventually  the  Host,  paten,  and  chalice 
are  placed  in  the  sepulchrum,  which  is  closed,  sealed,  and  censed 
during  the  singing  of  the  responsories  Jerusalem  luge  and 
Sepulto  Domino.  The  office  closes  with  versicles  and  a prayer. 

The  related  Elevatio  is  provided  for  in  the  accompanying 
rubric : 

< ELEVATIO  HOSTLE>21 

In  Festo  Gloriosissim^e  Resurrectionis  Domini  Nostri  Jesu  Christi. 

Priusqwatw  pulsetur  ad  Matutinum,  clausis  ianuis  templi,  succustos22 
aperit  Sepulchrum,  & apertum  relinquit.  Corpus  Domini,  quod  in 

SePULCHRO  POSITUM  FUIT,  REPONIT  IN  MONSTRANTIAW,  QUAM  IN  MENSA  IN- 
DUMENTO  ALTARIS  DECENTER  VESTITA  ANTE  OSTIUM  SEPULCHRI  SUPRA  COR- 
PORALE  COLLOCAT,  CUM  DU  ABUS  CANDELIS  IN  CANDELABRIS  ARDENTIBUS.  SlCUT 
ENIM  CERTUM  EST  CHRISTUM  ANTEQUAM  MuLIERES  & DlSCIPULI  AD  SePULCHRUW 
VENIRENT  RESURREXISSE,  IT  A CONUENIT  HANC  C.EREMONIAM  PERAGI  PRIUSQMam 
POPULUS  IN  TEMPLUM  CONUENIAT.23 

One  or  two  of  the  details  in  the  rubric  deserve  special  notice. 
Not  only  are  we  told  that  this  office  is  performed  by  the  sacristan 
in  secret  before  Matins;  we  are  also  given  the  reason  for  the 
secrecy.  It  appears  that  since  Christ  rose  before  the  arrival 


20  Second  responsory  of  Matins  of  Holy  Saturday.  See  Migne,  Pat.  Lat., 
LXXVIII,  768. 

21  Ordinarium  . . . Ecclesiae  Slrigoniensis,  Tirnavise,  1580,  sig.  I 8 recto. 

22  succustos]  succostos  (Print) . 

23  Followed  immediately  by  the  rubric:  Ad  Matutinum,  Inuitatorium. 


34 


UNIVERSITY  OF  WISCONSIN  STUDIES 


of  the  Maries  and  the  disciples  at  the  tomb,- the  commemoration 
of  the  Resurrection  should  be  made  before  the  entrance  of  the 
people  into  the  church.24  It  should  be  observed  further  that 
after  being  taken  up,  the  Host  is  placed  in  a monstrance  and 
put  upon  the  mensa  of  the  altar,  before  the  sepulchrum.  This 
arrangement  suggests  that  the  sepulchre  is  in  this  case  the 
tabernacle  behind  the  altar-table.  For  further  evidence  as  to 
the  disposition  of  the  monstrance  containing  the  Host  we  may 
scrutinize  the  related  text  of  the  Visitatio: 

<VISITATIO  SEPULCHR I> 25 

Ad  Matutinum  Inuitatorium  & alia  omnia  ut  in  libro.  Dum  autem 

<SIG.  I 8 VERSO  > LECTIONES  CANTANTUR,  INDUUNTUR  IN  SACRARIO  DlACONUS 
& SUBDIACONUS,  PRO  HOC  FESTO  IN  TABULA  NOT  ATI,  VESTIBUS  ALBIS,  SUO 
ORDINI  CONUENIENTIBUS.  DlSPONUNTUR  DUO  AD  FERENDUM  THUS  & TURRI- 
bulum;  ITEM  DUO  alii  ad  portanda  vexella.  Et  finita  ultima  LECTIONE, 
dum  in  organo  incipitur  responsorium  : Dum  transisset  Sabbatum,  de- 
scends officians  cum  praedictis  &-  ALnS  ministris  processionaliter  ad 

SePULCHRUW,  & ILLUD  SEMEL  CIRCUMIT,  STATQZte  ANTE  MENSAM  IN  QUA  EST 

MONSTRANTIA  posita.  Ubi  finito  responsorio  incensat  primum;  deinde 

SUMIT  IN  MANUS  MONSTRANTIAM,  INCIPITQwe  & CHORUS  PROSEQUITUR  INTROITUM : 

Resurrexi,  sine  versu.  Qui  dum  a choro  cantatur,  portat  & ponit  Sac- 

RAMENTUM  AD  ALTARE  SANCEE  CRUCIS.  Et  POSTQwaW  INTROITUS  FUERIT 
FINITUS,  DUO  PUERI  VENIUNT  AD  OSTIUM  SEPULCHRI,  QUORUW  UNUS  CANT  AT: 
Quem  quae<sig.  K 1 recto  >ris  mulier,  alleluia. 

Alter  vero  respondet: 

Iesum  Nazarenum,  alleluia. 

Rursus  primus: 

Surrexit,  non  est  hie,  alleluia;  ecce  locus  ubi  posuerunt  eum,  alleluia. 
Deinde  acclpiens  in  manus  monstrantiam,  Officians  ibidem  apud 

ALTARE  SANCEE  CRUCIS,  VERTIT  SE  AD  POPULUM,  INdPITQtte  ANTIPHONAM : 
Pax  vobis,  ego  sum,  alleluia, 


24  Another  reason  for  excluding  the  general  congregation  from  the  Elevatio 
is  cited  by  H.  Alt  ( Theater  und  Kirche,  Berlin,  1846,  p.  348)  from  the  Synod  of 
Worms  of  the  year  1316: 

Quum  a nostris  antecessoribus  ad  nos  usque  pervenerit,  ut  in  sacra  nocte 
Dominicae  Resurrectionis  ad  sustollendam  Crucifixi  imaginem  de  sepulcro,  ubi 
in  Parasceve  locata  fuerat,  nimia  virorum  et  mulierum  numerositas  certatim 
sese  comprimendo,  ecclesiam  simul  cum  Canonicis  et  Vicariis  introire  nitantur, 
opinantes  erronee:  quod  si  viderent  Crucifixi  imaginem  sustolli,  evaderent  hoc 
anno  inevitabilem  mortis  horam.  His  itaque  obviantes  statuimus  ut  Resurrec- 
tionis Mysterium  ante  ingressum  plebis  in  ecclesiam  peragatur. 

25  Ordinarium  . . . Ecclesiae  Strigoniensis , Tirnaviae,  1580,  sig.  I 8 recto — 
K1  recto. 


YOUNG — THE  EASTER  SEPULCHRE 


35 


Qtjam  Chorus  prosequitur.  Et  hoc  fit  ter,  voce  semper  altius  eleuata. 
Quibus  peractis,  cantatur  : 

Te  Deum  laudamus, 

AC  REUERTITUR  PROSESSIO  AD  CHORUM,  & MONSTRANTIA  COLLOCATUR  IN  ALTARI 
MAIORI  SUPER  CORPORALE,  & IBI  STAT  USQttC  AD  FINEM  LaUDUM.26 

From  this  text  we  learn  that  after  the  third  responsory  at 
the  end  of  the  Matins  the  choir  sings  the  Introit  Resurrexi27 
while  the  monstrance  is  carried  away  from  the  altar  at  which 
the  sepulchrum  is  located,  and  placed  upon  the  Altar e Sanctee 
Crucis.  This  procedure  leaves  the  sepulchrum  empty  and  ready 
for  the  usual  observances  of  the  Visitatio  Sepulchri , which  are 
duly  performed.  During  the  singing  of  the  antiphon  Pax  vobis 
the  officiating  priest  blesses  the  congregation  with  the  mon- 
strance. The  Te  Deum  is  then  sung,  and  the  monstrance  is 
carried  to  the  main  altar,  to  stand  until  the  end  of  Lauds. 

Several  details  in  the  observance  at  Gran  suggest  influences 
from  the  reservation  of  Holy  Thursday:  (1)  the  reservation 
together  of  the  Host  for  the  Missa  Prcesanctijicatorum  and  the 
Host  for  the  sepulchrum ;28  (2)  the  use  of  an  altar  tabernacle  as 
the  sepulchrum ;29  and  (3)  the  placing  of  the  Host  in  a mon- 
strance.30 

A still  more  elaborate  ceremonial  and  a more  extensive  use 
of  the  monstrance  are  to  be  observed  in  a relatively  late  docu- 
ment, a Rituale  of  the  year  1686  from  Salzburg.  The  Depositio 
in  this  book  has  been  described  as  follows:31 


26  Followed  immediately  by  the  rubric:  Ad  Laudes. 

27  This  use  of  the  Introit  Resurrexi  is  important  in  its  bearing  upon  the 
relation  of  the  Visitatio  of  Easter  Matins  to  the  Quern  quceritis  trope  at  the 
Introit  of  the  Easter  Mass.  See  Publications  of  the  Modern  Language  Associa- 
tion, XXIX,  3. 

28  See  above,  p.  17. 

29  See  above,  p.  14. 

30  This  use  of  the  monstrance  seems  to  reflect  a relatively  late  practice  con- 
nected with  the  Thursday  reservation.  See  Deer  eta  Authentica,  IV,  433-439. 

31  Since  the  Salzburg  Rituale  of  1686  has  not  been  accessible  to  me,  I quote 
the  description  of  the  Depositio  from  Deer  da  Authentica , IV,  429-430.  Appar- 
ently the  Decreta  Authentica  does  not  undertake  to  print  the  Depositio  verbatim 
throughout. 


36 


UNIVERSITY  OF  WISCONSIN  STUDIES 


< DEPOSIT  10  HOSTLER 

Feria  VI  in  Parasceve,  vel  ante,  scribit  suprascriptum  Rituale  Salisburgense 
sub  titulo:  “Ordo  ponendi  SS.  Corpus  Domini  in  Sepulchrum,”  tempestive 
paratur  locus  vel  cappella  pro  Sepulchro,  velis  et  luminaribus,  quantum  fieri 
potest.  Et  facta  a Celebrante  in  Missa  Praesanctificatorum  Communione, 
ardentibus  adhuc  facibus  vel  candelis  in  choro,  pro  reverentia  Hostiae  in  calice 
relictae,  Celebrans  stans  imponit  incensum  in  duo  thuribula  absque  benedic- 
tione,  incensat  ter  venerabile  Sacramentum  genuflexus.  Interim  ordinatur 
lugubris  Processio.  Praecedit  crux,  quam  immediate  sequitur  clerus  more 
solito,  luminaria  ferens,  ultimo  loco  Sacerdos,  casula  nigra  indutus,  calicem 
coopertum  velo  albo  manibus  gestans,  cum  Ministris  sub  baldachino  seu  um- 
bella  incedens,  choro  interim  cantante  Responsorium:  Recessit  Pastor  (ex  II 
Noct.  Matut.  Sabb.  S.)  thurificantibus  continuo  duobus  thuriferariis  vel  uno 
saltern  in  minoribus  ecclesiis,  adhibito  quoque  malleo  ligneo  cymbali  loco. 
Interim  reverenter  ponitur  calix  cum  hostia  in  loco,  corporali  mundo  strato. 
Sacerdos  facta  genuflexione  ac  deposito  velo  humerali,  removet  calicis  velum, 
patenam  et  pallam;  et  repetita  genuflexione  sacram  Hostiam  e calice  desumptam 
ponit  in  lunula  et  in  ostensorio,  quod  densiore  velo  sericeo  albi  coloris  obtegit. 
Facta  genuflexione  purificat  digitos  super  calicem,  sumit  ablutionem  et  extergit 
os  et  calicem  purificatorio.  Repetita  genuflexione  descendit  in  planum  et 
genuflexus  in  infimo  gradu  expectat,  donee  Diaconus  ostensorium  in  throno 
collocaverit.  Deinde  imponit  incensum  in  thuribulum  et  genuflexus  ter  incen- 
sat Sanctissimum.  Interim  cantatur  Responsorium:  Tenebrae  factae  sunt 
(ex  II  Noct.  Matut.  feriae  VI  in  Parasc.).  Quo  finito  dicit  Sacerdos  v.  Christus 
f actus  est  pro  nobis  obediens  etc.  et  Orationem  Respice. 

Haec  expositio  SS.  Sacramenti  in  ostensorio  velato  durat  per  totam  diem 
Parasceves  usque  ad  horam  septimam  serotinam,  qua  SS.  Sacramentum  ex 
ostensorio  sumitur  et  cum  lunula  in  custodia  ponitur;  turn  silentio  cum  lumini- 
bus  ad  tabernaculum  defertur,  ubi  particulae  pro  infirmis  asservantur.  Sabbato 
Sancto  autem  mane  ante  vel  post  Missam  (consuetudo  in  hoc  puncto  valde 
differt)  iterum  sub  silentio  SS.  Sacramentum  in  custodia  ad  SS.  Sepulchrum 
defertur,  in  ostensorium  velatum  includitur  et  sub  silentio  exponitur,  incensa- 
tione  more  solito  adhibita. 

Ad  Sepulchrum,  dicit  Rituale  laudatum,  ut  supra  paratum,  non  minus 
quam  ad  hestemum  altare,  adhibendi  sunt  nocte  ac  die  testes  quidam  et  cus- 
todes;  nec  desse  debent,  qui  secundum  ritum  antiquum  psallant. 

Of  the  location  of  the  sepulchrum,  in  this  case,  we  are  told 
only  that  it  is  in  a “place  or  chapel.”  After  the  Communion 
of  the  Missa  Prces anctificatorum  the  celebrant  places  the  Host 
in  a chalice  covered  by  a paten  and  a pall,  and  carries  it  in 
procession  to  the  sepulchrum,  the  choir  singing  the  responsory 
Recessit  pastor.  Here  the  Host  is  removed  from  the  chalice, 


32  From  Deer  eta  Authentica,  IV,  429-430,  the  description  being  based  upon 
the  Rituale  Salisburgense  of  1686. 


YOUNG — THE  EASTER  SEPULCHRE 


37 


deposited  in  a monstrance,  placed  in  throno , and  censed. 
Meanwhile  the  choir  sing  the  responsory  Tenebrce  facta , at  the 
conclusion  of  which  the  celebrant  says  the  verse  Christus  f actus 
and  a prayer.  After  the  monstrance  has  stood  exposed  until 
seven  in  the  evening,  it  is  placed  in  a tabernacle  apart.  On 
Saturday  morning  the  Host  is  returned  to  the  sepulchrum , 
where  it  is  censed  and  again  exposed  in  the  monstrance.  During 
the  exposition  of  Friday  and  Saturday  guards  sing  psalms  at 
the  sepulchrum. 

The  Elevatio  at  Salzburg  takes  the  following  form: 

<ELEVATIO  HOST  I/E  > 33 

Nocte  sancta  Paschae,  hora  congrua,  Sacerdos  indutus  alba,  stola,  et 

PLUVIALI  ALBI  COLORIS  ET  MlNISTRI  SACRI  CUM  DEBITIS  PARAMENTIS,  PRAE- 
CEDENTIBUS  THURIFERARIIS  CUM  INCENSO  ET  THURBULIS  FUMIG  ANTIBUS, 
SEQUENTIBUS  IUXTA  CRUCEM  DUOBUS  CEROFERARIIS  CUM  CANDELIS  ACCENSIS, 
CHORO  ET  CLERO,  SINGULIS  CUM  SUIS  CANDELIS,  VENIUNT  ORDINE  AD  SEPUL- 
CHRUM, PRO  DEFERENDO  PROCESSIONALITER  SS.  SACRAMENTO,  UBI  FACTA  GENU- 
FLEXIONE  UTROQUE  GENU  ALIQUANTISPER  ORANT.  SACERDOS  SURGENS  ET 
STANS  IMPONIT  INCENSUM  IN  THURIBULUM  ABSQUE  BENEDICTIONE . TUM 
GENUFLEXUS  THURIFICAT  VENERABILE  SACR AMENTUM  TRIPLICI  DUCTU;  DlA- 
CONUS  DEINDE  ILLUD  E THRONO  DEPROMPTUM  PONIT  SUPER  ALT  ARE,  CORPORALI 
STRATUM,  ET  VELUM  AB  OSTENSORIO  REMOVET.  SACERDOS  VELO  ALBO  OBLONGO 
CIRCUMDATUS,  ACCIPIT  SANCTISSIMUM  REVERENTER  ET  PROCESSIONALI  RITU, 
PRAECEDENTIBUS  CLERICIS  CUM  LUMINIBUS  ET  MINISTRIS  CONTINUO  THURIFI- 
C ANTIBUS,  CYMBALISQUE  PERSONANTIBUS  ILLUD  DEPORTAT  EX  SePULCHRO  PER 
TOTAM  ECCLESIAM  (VEL  ETIAM  EXTRA  ECCLESIAM  CIRCA  LOCA  VICINA,  UTI  IN 

Austria  mos  est)  et  tunc  ad  altare  maius,  interim  choro  inchoante,  et 

IN  TONO  FESTIVO  (iNTERPOSITO  ETIAM,  UBI  FIERI  POTEST,  ORGANO)  CANTANTE 
hymnum:  Aurora  coelum  purpurat,  etc. 

Itaque  Sacerdos,  cum  pervenerit  ad  altare  maius  et  posuerit  ibidem 

VENERABILE  SACRAMENTUM,  FACIT  PROFUNDAM  GENUFLEXIONEM,  STANSQUE 
ITERUM  IMPONIT  INCENSUM  ABSQUE  BENEDICTIONE,  ET  SANCTISSIMUM  TRIPLICI 
DUCTU  GENUFLEXUS  INCENSAT.  POSTEA  CANITUR  A MlNISTRIS  VEL  IPSO 

Sacerdote,  ipsis  deficientibus  v<ersum>:  Surrexit  Dominus  de  sepul- 
chro,  Alleluia.  r<esponsio>:  Qui  pro  nobis  pependit  in  ligno,  Alleluia. 
Oremus:  Deus,  qui  hanc  sacratissimam  noctem  etc.  (ex  Missa  Sabb.  S.). 

Tunc  genuflectunt  Celebrans  et  Ministri  in  infimo  altaris  gradu 
et  a choro  cantatur  Hymnus  Tantum  ergo  et  Genitori.  Interim  imponitur 

THUS  ET  INCENSATUR  SANCTISSIMUM;  TUM  CANTANTUR  VERSICULUS  ET  ORATIO 

de  SS.  Sacramento.  Et  facta  venerabili  Sacramento  profunda  reveren- 
tia,  Sacerdos  accepto  super  humeros  velo  oblongo  albo,  quo  in  proces- 
sions USUS  FUIT,  AD  ALTARE  ASCENDIT,  SS.  SACRAMENTUM  REVERENTER  ACCIPIT, 


33  From  the  Rituale  Salisburgcnse  of  1686  as  quoted  in  Deer  eta  Aulhentica , 
IV,  439. 


38 


UNIVERSITY  OF  WISCONSIN  STUDIES 


ET  STANS,  CUM  EODEM,  POPULO  IN  MODUM  CRUCIS  BENEDICIT,  NIHIL  DICENS, 
ILLUDQUE  IN  TABERNACULO,  ABSQUE  ULTERIORE  INCENSATIONE,  RECONDIT  ET 
CUM  SUIS  AD  SACRISTIAM  VEL  CHORUM  REDIT.  In  MAIORIBUS  ECCLESIIS  INCHOA- 

tur  Matutinum,  in  cuius  fine  Hymnus  Te  Deum  solemnissime  cantatur; 
in  minoribus  cantari  poterit  cantio  paschalis:  Surrexit  Christus  hodie, 

AUT  ALIA  CONVENIENS. 

According  to  this  version  the  Elevatio  begins,  before  Easter 
Matins,  with  a procession,  in  which  the  monstrance  containing 
the  Host  is  carried  from  the  sepulchrum  through  the  length  of 
the  church  to  the  main  altar  while  the  choir  sings  the  hymn 
Aurora  coelum  pur  pur  at.  While  the  monstrance  rests  upon  the 
main  altar,  it  is  censed,  and  a versicle  (Surrexit),  a response 
(Qui  pro  nobis),  and  a prayer  are  uttered.  Still  further,  the 
hymns  Tantum  ergo  and  Genitori  are  sung,  and  a versicle  and 
prayer  are  said.  The  priest  now  raises  the  monstrance,  blesses 
the  congregation  with  it,  and  places  it  in  a tabernacle. 

Once  more,  the  conspicuous  use  of  the  monstrance  at  Salz- 
burg seems  to  reflect  the  influence  of  the  reservation  of  Holy 
Thursday  in  one  of  its  relatively  modern  practices. 

In  the  first  version  of  the  Elevatio  considered  in  the  present 
section  of  this  study34  we  observed  at  least  a hint  of  the  theme 
of  the  Harrowing  of  Hell.  A more  substantial  reference  to  this 
theme  is  present  in  the  Elevatio  from  the  cathedral  of  Strassburg. 
Of  this  Elevatio,  and  of  the  related  Depositio,  we  have  several 
texts;  and  since  these  texts  vary  among  themselves  in  interesting 
matters  of  detail,  I shall  first  present  the  documents,  in  their 
chronological  order.35 

A manuscript  of  the  thirteenth  century  preserves  both  the 
Depositio  and  Elevatio  in  the  following  simple  forms:36 


34  See  above,  pp.  30-31. 

35 1 omit  from  consideration  the  texts  printed  by  G.  Milchsack  {Die  latein- 
ischen  Osterfeiern,  Wolfenbiittel,  1880,  pp.  122-123)  as  coming  from  “Ordo 
Wirceburgensis  c.  a.  1490.”  Lange  {Die  lateinischen  Osterfeiern , pp.  8,  48) 
affirms  that  the  book  from  which  Milchsack  quotes  is  a Strassburg  “Agende” 
of  the  year  1513. 

36  London,  British  Museum,  Additional  MS  23922,  Liber  Responsalis 
Argentinensis  saec.  xiii,  fol.  37r,  41v.  The  Visitatio  Sepulchri  from  this  manu- 
script (fol.  41v-42v)  is  printed  by  Lange,  pp.  49-50.  The  Depositio  and  Elevatio 
are,  I believe,  now  printed  for  the  first  time. 


YOUNG — THE  EASTER  SEPULCHRE 


39 


< DEPOSIT  10  HOSTLE>37 

Et  communicant  omnes  cum  silentio.  Deinde  dum  uadunt  cum  cruce 
ad  Locum  Sepulchri,  cantetur  r esponsorium: 

Sicut  ouis  adCoccisionem  ductus  est,  et  dum  male  tractaretur  non 
aperuit  os  suum;  traditus  est  ad  mortem,  ut  vivificaret  populum  suum>. 
Versus:  In  pace  factus  est<locus  eius,  et  in  Sion  habitatio  ejus>,38 
cum  antiphoma: 

A nliphona:  In  pace  in  idipsum. 

A ntiphona:  Caro  mea. 

Et  vresByteRO  nectente  fila,  cahtetut  Antiphona: 

Sepulto  domino  < signatum  est  monumentum,  ponentes  milites  qui 
custodirent  illud  > .39 

<ELEVATIO  HOSTLE>40 

PRiusQwaM41  det ur  siGNUm  ad  Mat utinum,  SAcerDOTES  lauewt  manms  suas, 
et  facta  conEESsionE,  vadawt  ad  SEPULchrum  cum  ps almo: 

Domine,  quid  < multiplicati  sunt  > ® , 

et  Antiphona: 

Ego  dor<mivi  et  somnum  cepi,  et  resurrexi,  quoniam  Dominus  sus- 
cepit  me,  alleluia,  alleluia.  > 43 
RECEDeNDO  DiCATwr  Antiphona: 

Cum  rex  gloriae ,44 

A more  ample  description  of  the  ceremonial  of  the  Strassburg 
Elevatio  is  found  in  the  following  text  given  by  Martene  from  a 
manuscript  of  the  fourteenth  century: 

< ELEVATIO  HOSTLE>45 

PRrUSQUAM  DETUR  SIGNUM  AD  MATUTINUM,  CONVENIANT  IN  CAPELLAM  S. 

Andrew  canonici,  sacerdotes,  & alii,  & sacerdos  indutus  superpelliceo 
& desuper  cappa,  adjunctis  lateribus  suis  duobus  sacerdotibus  cappatis, 


37  British  Museum,  Add.  MS  23922,  fol.  37r. 

38  Responsory  for  the  third  noctum  in  Matins  on  Holy  Saturday.  See 
Migne,  Pat.  Lat.,  LXXVIII,  768. 

39  Antiphon  from  Lauds  of  Holy  Saturday.  See  Migne,  Pat.  Lat., 
LXXVIII,  769.  My  text  is  followed  immediately  by  the  rubric:  Ad  Vesperas. 

40  British  Museum,  Add.  MS  23922,  fol.  41v.  This  ordo  for  the  Elevatio  is 
written  by  a contemporary  hand  in  the  left  margin. 

41  Through  cutting  away  of  the  page,  the  reading  of  the  first  five  letters 
of  this  word  is  rendered  uncertain. 

42  Psalm  iii. 

43  Third  antiphon  of  Easter  Matins.  See  Migne,  Pat.  Lat.,  LXXVIII,  769. 

44  The  marginal  entry  ends  thus  abruptly. 

45  E.  Martene,  Tractatus  de  Antiqua  Ecclesice  Disciplina,  Lyons,  1706,  pp. 
504-505,  from  “Argentoratensis  ecclesiae  Ordinarium  ex  veteri  codice  anno  1364 
manu  exaratum.”  Martene  does  not  give  a Depositio  from  this  manuscript. 


40 


UNIVERSITY  OF  WISCONSIN  STUDIES 


PR.ECEDENTE  HEBDOMADARIO  CAPPATO,  CUM  INCENSU  & MAGNIS  CANDELIS 
CONTORSIS,  & LOTIS  MANIBUS  INTROEANT  SEPULCHRUM.  QUO  INGRESSO, 

faciant  confessionem  dicendo:  Confiteor  Deo.  Misereatur  vestri.  Deinde 

DICATUR  PSALMUS: 

Domine,  quid  multiplicati  sunt, 

CUM  ANTIPHON  A: 

Ego  dormivi, 

SUB  SILENTIO  PRONUNCIATA.  TUNC  SACERDOS  ACCIPIAT  CORPUS  CHRISTI  DE 
P DC  IDE,  & LEVANS  IN  ALTUM  OSTENDAT  ILLUD  POPULO  CORAM  SEPULCHRO. 

Post  ostensionem  & adorationem  populi,  reponat  in  pyxedem,  & sic  tol- 

LENTES  INDE  CORPUS  DOMINI,  RECEDUNT  CUM  ANTIPHON  At 

Cum  rex  gloriae, 

SUB  SILENTIO  PRONUNCIATA.  SED  INTERIM  IN  CHORO  CANITUR  PR.EDICTA 
ANTIPHONA  CANORA  VOCE  A CLERO,  DEMISSOQUE  IBI  SUDARIO  USQUE  POST 

Matutinas.  Cum  autem  pervenerint  in  chorum  cum  Corpore  Domini, 

SACERDOS  STET  IN  ALTARI,  ET  OSTENDAT  CLERO  & POPULO  CORPUS  CHRISTI, 
LEV  ANDO  LPSUM  SICUT  SOLET  LEVARI  IN  MlSSA.  DEINDE  REPONAT  IN  PYXIDEM 

Corpus  Christi,  & portet  ad  alt  are  S.  Laurenth,  & ibidem  similiter 

OSTENDAT.  DlMISSOQUE  IBI  SACRAMENTO  REVERTATUR  IN  CHORUM,  LOTIS  IBI 
PRIUS  QUATUOR  SUMMIT ATIBUS  DIGITORUM  SUORUM  IN  C ALICE;  STATIMQUE  COM- 
PULSANTUR  OMNIA  SIGNA.46 

We  may  complete  our  presentation  of  the  Strassburg  texts 
with  the  series  from  an  ordinarium  of  the  year  1590.47  The 
reservation  on  Holy  Thursday  of  a Host  for  the  sepulchrum  is 
prescribed  as  follows: 


< IN  CCENA  DOM  INI> 

TRES  QUOQUE  HOSTIAE  CONSECRENTUR  HODIE,  UNA  PRO  PRAESENTI  MlSSA, 
ALTERA  PRO  OFFICIO  CRASTINO,  TERTIA  PRO  SEPULCHRO  DOMINI.  SANGUIS 
AUTEM  PENITUS  CONSUMATUR.  DENIQUE  PARUAE  HOSTIAE  CONSECRANDAE 
HODIE  SUNT,  ET  RESERUANDAE  IN  SEQUENTEM  DIEM,  PRO  COMMUNICANDIS.48 

The  Depositio  and  Elevatio  from  the  same  document  are 
ordered  as  follows: 

The  Visiiatio  from  it  is  reprinted  from  Martene  (p.  505)  by  C.  Lange,  in  Jahres- 
bericht  iiber  die  Realschule  erster  Ordnung  in  Halberstadt  (Program  No.  223), 
Halberstadt,  1881,  pp.  11-12. 

46  Followed  immediately  by  the  rubric : Ad  Matutinum. 

47  Agenda  Ecclesiae  Argentinensis  . . . , Coloniae,  1590.  I quote  from  the 
copy  in  the  Hofbibliothek,  Munich.  All  the  texts  now  printed,  together  with 
the  Visitatio  Sepulchri , have  been  published  by  the  present  writer  in  Transac- 
tions of  the  Wisconsin  Academy  of  Sciences,  Arts,  and  Letters,  XVI,  Part  II, 
911-914.  Lange  duly  mentions  (Die  lateinischen  Osterfeiern,  pp.  8,  50)  the 
Visitatio  Sepulchri  in  the  print  of  1590. 

48  Agenda  Ecclesiae  Argentinensis  . . . , Coloniae,  1590,  p.  214. 


YOUNG THE  EASTER  SEPULCHRE 


41 


< DEPOSIT  10  HOSTLE>49 

COMMUNIONS50  PERACTA,  PROCEDAT  SACERDOS  AD  SEPULCHRUM,  CUM  CORPORE 

Domini  reposito  in  corporali,  uel  in  calice,  uel  in  sacrata  pyxide. 
Praecedant  ergo  ministri  cum  incenso,  et  duo  pueri,  cum  candelis  cum 

PROCESSIONE,  USQUE  AD  LOCUM  SEPULCHRI,  UBI  DEBET  RECONDI  CORPUS 

Domini,  cantando  Responsorium: 

Sicut  ouis  ad  occisionem  ductus  est,  et  dum  male  tractaretur  non  aperuit 
os  suu/w.  Traditus  est  ad  mortem,  ut  vivificaret  populum  suuw.  Ver- 
sus : In  pace  factus  est  locus  eius,  et  in  Sion  habitatio  eius. 

Antiphons. : 

Caro  mea  requiescet  in  spe. 

Sacerdote  nectente  fila,  cantetur  hoc  Antiphon  a: 

Sepulto  Domino,  signatum  est  monumentum,  ponentes  milites  qui 
custo<p.  226>dierunt  illud. 

STATIM  LEGANTUR  VESPERAE  IN  EODEW  LOCO. 

<ELEVATIO  HOSTLE>51 

Ordo  Visitandi  Sepulchrum  IN  die  Sancto  Paschae. 

Summo  mane  antequam  pulsetur  ad  Matutinas  conveniat  Clerus,  et 

QUI  UOLUERINT  INTRARE  SEPULCHRUM  LAUENT  MANUS  SUAS,  ET  UENIANT  ANTE 
PRINCIPALE  ALTARE  UEL  PROPE  SEPULCHRUM,  ET  LEGANT  SEPTEM  PSALMOS 
POENITENTIALES.  <p.  252>QUIBUS  FINITIS,  DICANT: 

Kyrie  eleison.  Christe  eleison.  Kyrie  eleison. 

Pater  noster.  Et  ne  nos  inducas  in  tentationew. 

Preces: 

Exurge,  Domine,  adiuua  nos.  Et  redime  nos  propter  nomen  tuum. 
Exurge  gloria  mea.  Exurge  psalterium  et  cithara.  Exurgam  diluculo. 
Confitebor  in  populis,  Domine.  Domine,  exaudi  orationem  meam.  Et 
clamor  meus  ad  te  ueniat. 

Dominus  vobiscum. 

Et  cum  spiritu  tuo. 

Oremus: 

Oratio: 

Exaudi,  quaesumus,  Domine,  supplicum  preces,  et  confitentium  tibi 
parce  peccatis  ut  pariter  indulgentiam  tribuas  benignus  et  pacem.  Per 
Christum  Dominum  nostrum. 

Deinde  dicant: 

Confiteor  Deo  Patri,  et  Misereatur,  et  Indulgent,  etc. 

Facta  confessione,  uadant  ad  Sepulchrum  dicendo  ps almum: 

Domine,  quid  multiplicati. 

Sequf.tur  Antiphon  a,  quam  cantent  sub  silentio: 

Ego  dormivi  et  somnum  cepi,  et  exurrexi,  quoniam  Dominus  suscepit 
me,  alleluia,  alleluia.  Euouae. 


49  Id.,  pp.  225-226. 

50  The  Communion  at  the  Missa  Prcesanctificatorum. 

51  Agenda  Ecclesiae  Argenlinensis  . . . , Coloniae,  1590,  pp.  251-252. 


42 


UNIVERSITY  OF  WISCONSIN  STUDIES 


Et  tollentes  inde  Corpus  Domini  redeant  in  chorum,  cantando  sub- 
miss a uoce  an liphonam: 

Cum  rex  gloriae  Christus  infernum  debellaturus  intraret  et  chorus 
angelicus  ante  faciem  eius  portas  principum  tolli  praeciperet,  sanctorum 
populus,  qui  tenebatur  in  morte  captiuus,  uoce  lachrymabili  clamauerat: 
Aduenisti  desiderabilis,  quern  expectabamus  in  tenebris,  ut  educeres  hac 
nocte  uinculatos  de  claustris.  Te  nostra  uocabant  suspiris;  te  larga  re- 
quirebant  lamenta.  Tu  factus  es  spes  desperatis,  magna  consolatio  in 
tormentis,  Alleluia. 

Quae  consuetudo  ubi  fuerit,  servanda  erit.  Et  statim  cum  redierint 
in  Chorum,  ostenso  Sacramento  in  altari  sicut  fit  in  Missa,  deinde 

CANTENTUR  MATUTINAE. 

With  these  several  texts  before  us  we  may  now  examine 
some  of  the  details  of  the  Strassburg  use.  In  liturgical  content 
the  two  texts  of  the  Depositio  are  substantially  identical,  and 
both  are  found  between  Mass  and  Vespers.  According  to  the 
longer  rubrics  of  the  text  of  1590,  the  Host52  is  carried  to  the 
sepulchrum  in  a corporal,  a chalice,  or  a pyx,  and  the  procession 
is  provided  with  incense  and  lights.  After  the  laying  down  of 
the  Host,  the  sealing  of  the  sepulchrum  appears  to  be  accom- 
plished by  the  tying  of  chords. 

For  the  details  of  the  Elevatio  we  may  center  our  attention 
upon  the  text  from  the  fourteenth  century  communicated  by 
Martene,  because  of  its  full  indications  as  to  ceremonial. 
The  office  occupies  the  usual  liturgical  position,  before  Easter 
Matins,  and  it  opens  with  a familiar  procession.  It  appears 
that  the  sepulchrum  provided  is  of  unusual  amplitude,  for  at 
least  a part  of  those  in  the  procession  are  able  to  enter  it.  Those 
who  enter  make  confession53  and  recite  the  psalm  Domine,  quid 
multiplicati  sunt , with  its  antiphon  Ego  dormivi.  The  priest 
then  takes  the  Host  from  the  pyx  and  exposes  it  for  the  adora- 
tion of  the  congregation  gathered  before  the  sepulchrum . 
Replacing  the  Host  in  the  pyx,  the  priest  carries  it  in  procession 
to  the  choir  during  the  singing  of  the  antiphon  Cum  rex  glorice , 


52  In  the  Depositio  in  Add.  MS  23922  the  words  uadunt  cum  Cruce  ad  locum 
Sepulchri  raise  a difficulty.  They  seem  to  indicate  that  the  object  buried  was 
not  the  Host  but  the  Cross,  whereas  the  other  Strassburg  documents  mention 
only  the  Host.  The  Crux  of  the  passage  quoted  may  be  merely  a processional 
cross. 

53  The  liturgical  text  for  the  confession  is  more  fully  indicated  in  the  Elevatio 
from  the  print  of  1590. 


YOUNG — THE  EASTER  SEPULCHRE 


43 


and  eventually  exposes  it  to  the  congregation,  both  at  the  main 
altar  and  at  the  altar  of  St.  Laurence. 

We  cannot  assert  that  the  treatment  of  the  theme  of  the 
Harrowing  of  Hell  in  this  version  is  notably  developed.  The 
antiphon  Cum  rex  glorice  presents  the  theme  in  vivid  form,  but 
the  possibilities  of  the  theme  in  the  way  of  dialogue  are  ap- 
proached only  in  certain  more  highly  developed  versions  to  be 
examined  in  fater  divisions  of  the  present  study.54 

Waiving  for  the  present,  then,  a further  consideration  of 
the  Decensus,  wre  come  to  a group  of  texts  which  are  notable 
especially  from  the  fact  that  the  versions  of  the  Elevatio  are 
found  in  close  combination  with  versions  of  the  Visitatio.  This 
phenomenon  is  clearly  approached  in  the  use  of  the  cathedral 
of  Parma.  From  this  church  we  have  particularly  full  or  dines, 
of  the  year  1417,  describing  all  the  cerenTonials  of  the  sepul- 
chrum . In  the  first  place,  the  reservation,  on  Holy  Thursday, 
of  a Host  for  the  Missa  Prcesanctijicatorum  and  of  one  for  the 
Depositio  is  provided  for  as  follows: 

< IN  COEN  A DOM  IN  I> 

Ex  REDIT  CLERUS  AD  EpISCOPUM,  QUI  MlSSAM  PERFICIAT,  RESERVATIS  DUABUS 
HoSTIIS  CONSECRATIS,  QUAE,  FINITA  MlSSA,  IN  SACRARIO  REVERENTER  INCLU- 
DANTUR.55 

The  Depositio  occurs  immediately  after  Mass  of  Good 
Friday,  according  to  the  following  or  do: 

< DEPOSIT  10  HOSTLE>56 

Finita  dicta  Missa,  descendant  Dominus  Episcopus  cum  Canonicis  et 

TOTO  CLERO  AD  CAPPELLAM  SANCTAE  AgATHAE,  ET  CORPUS  ChRISTI  QUOD  EST 
IBI  RECONDITUM  CUM  EA  PROCESSIONE  MODO  ET  FORMA  ET  SOLEMNITATE  QUIBUS 
PORTATUM  FUIT,  INDE  DEVOTE  ACCIPIATUR,  ET  REPORTETUR,  ET  IN  PARADISO 
POST  ALTARE  MAIUS  REVERENTER  RECONDATUR,  UT  IN  SEPULCRO,  IBI  DIMISSO 
LUMINE  COPIOSO  PER  TOTAM  NOCTEM  DURATURO,  CLERICIS  CANTANTIBUS  RE- 
SPONSORIUM : 

Sepulto  Domino, 


54  See  especially  pp.  90-91,  111-118. 

65  Ordinarium  Ecclesiae  Parmensis  e velustioribus  excerplum  reformatum  A . 
1417,  edited  by  L.  Barbieri,  Parma,  1866,  p.  134.  The  passage  quoted  is  preceded 
immediately  by  an  ordo  for  the  reservation  of  the  Chrism. 

56  Barbieri,  pp.  140-141. 


44 


UNIVERSITY  OF  WISCONSIN  STUDIES 


ET  CETERA.  QUO  FINITO,  DICUNTUR  VESPER^57  ANTE  OSTIUM  PARAD1SI58  A 

Domino  Episcopo  et  clericis  suis  genuflexis,  submissis*  vocibus;  et  ipsis 

FINITIS,  DENUDATUR  ALTARE. 

From  this  text  it  appears  that  the  Host  to  be  “buried” 
has  been  reserved  in  a chapel  of  the  cathedral,  from  which  it  is 
carried,  in  a procession  of  the  bishop  and  clergy,  to  a structure 
called  Paradisus  situated  behind  the  main  altar.  Here  the 
Host  is  deposited  during  the  singing  of  the  responsory  Sepulto 
Domino.  Vespers  are  then  said  before  the  door  of  the  Paradi- 
sus, and  lights  are  kept  burning  during  the  night. 

The  ceremony  of  the  Elevatio  is  known  to  us  only  through  a 
reference  in  the  following  text  of  the  Visitatio  Sepulchri :59 

< ELEVATIO  HOSTLE  ET  VISITATIO  SEPULCHRI>6* 

In  Matutino  Paschae,  hora  quasi  nona  noctis  pulsetur  Baionus61 

SOLEMNITER  CUM  ALUS;  ORNETUR  ALTARE  SOLEMNIUS  QUAM  ORNARI  POSSIT, 
ET  OMNIA  LUMINARIA  ECCLESIAE,  UT  IN  NATIVITATE,  ACCENDANTUR.  ANTE 
INCHOATIONEM  MATUTINI  DUO  GUARDACHORn62  ET  DUO  CANTORES  CUM  PIVIALI- 

bus  Sepulcrum  Domini  reverenter  intrant  cum  thuribulis  et  incenso, 

CEREIS  ANTE  SePULCRI  OSTIUM  DUOBUS  POSITIS.  El  INCENSANTES  SEPULCRUM63 
QUAERUNT  DE  CORPORE  ChRISTI,  QUOD  ANTE  HUNC  ACTUM  SACRISTA  PERVIGIL 
INDE  ABSTULISSE  DEBUIT,  ET  IN  SACRARIO  DEPUTATO  REVERENTER  RECONDIDISSE, 
ET  PALPANT  LINTEAMINA  MUNDA,  QUIBUS  ID  ERAT  INVOLUTUM.  QUOD  NON 
INVENIENTES,  REVERTUNTUR  AD  OSTIUM  SePULCRI,  FORIS  TAMEN  NON  EQNTES, 
SED  VERSUS  ALTARE  MAIUS  IUXTA  QUOD  SINT  ALIQUI  CLERICI  DICENTES : 

Quem  quaeritis? 

Qui  Clerici  respondentes  dicant: 


57  Vesperae]  Vesperi  (Barbieri). 

58  The  editor  provides  the  following  foot-note:  Questo  particolare  non 
lascia  dubbio  che  Tedificio,  chiamato  Paradisus , fosse  chiuso;  e cosi  appunto  esser 
dovea,  vi  grazia  del  nome  attribuitogli,  da  poi  ch’  esso  tan  to  vale  quanto 
hortus  conclusus  (y.  Isid.  Orig.  xiv,  III,  1,3). 

59  From  Barbieri  this  text  has  been  published  by  A.  D’ Ancona,  Origini  del 
Teatro  Ilaliano,  Vol.  I,  Turin,  1891,  pp.  30-31;  and  from  D’Ancona,  by  Lange, 

p.  28. 

60  Barbieri,  pp.  147-149. 

61  Baionus  is  the  name  of  a large  bell — campana  grossa.  See  Barbieri,  p.  10. 

62  This  word  is  explained  by  the  following  passage  (Barbieri,  p.  66):  In 
Guardachoratus  officio  quatuor  sint  clerici  instituti,  qui  moribus  sint  et  discre- 
tione  approbati,  et  cantus  perfectione  eruditi  . . . istorum  quatuor  Guarda- 
choriorum  officio  . . . totus  chorus  ecclesiae  sublevatur  atque  regitur,  et 
regi  debet. 

63  Sepulcrum]  sepulcro  (Barbieri). 


YOUNG — THE  EASTER  SEPULCHRE 


45 


lesum  Nazarenum. 

Quibus  primi  respondeant: 

Non  est  hie;  surrexit  sicut  dixit, 

EX  CETERA.  POSTEA  EGREDIUNTUR  SEPULCRUM  ISTI  QUATUOR,  PRAEVIIS  DICTIS 
CEREIS,  ET  DICUNT  VERSUS  POPULUM  ANTIPHON  AM: 

Surrexit  Christus ; iam  non  moritur. 

Qua  finita  maior  illorum  quatuor  ad  Episcopum  accedit  sine  lumine, 
ET  El  dicit  plane: 

Surrexit  Dominus, 

et  osculatur  eum.  Et  Episcopus  dicit: 

Deo  gratias. 

Qui  Episcopus  alta  voce  deinde  dicit: 

Te  deum  laudamus, 

ET  INCENSAT  ALT  ARE,  DICTIS  DUPLERIIS  ARDENTIBUS;  ET  DUM  DICITUR  Te  Deum 

laudamus,  ille  qui  nuntiavit  Domino  Episcopo  Christum  resurrexisse, 
similiter  nuntiet  Dominis  Canonicis.  Finito  Te  Deum  laudamus  incipit 
Dominus  Episcopus:  Domine,  labia  mea  aperies.64 

Concerning  the  Elevatio  itself  we  have*  here  merely  a brief 
rubric  directing  the  sacristan  to  remove  the  Host  from  the 
sepulchrum  well  before  the  beginning  of  Matins,  and  to  secrete 
it  reverently  in  the  sacristy.  As  a whole,  then,  the  text  before 
us  describes  not  the  Elevatio , but  the  Visitatio  Sepulchri,  which 
seems  to  have  been  transferred,  along  with  the  Te  Deum , from 
its  usual  place  at  the  end  of  the  Matins  to  the  place  preceding 
Matins  usually  occupied  by  the  Elevatio.  This  version  of  the 
Visitatio  is  noteworthy  in  that  those  approaching  the  sepulchrum 
(representing,  but  not  necessarily  impersonating , the  Maries) 
actually  enter  the  sepulchrum  in  search  of  the  Corpus  Christi, 
and  touch  the  linteamina , before  they  are  challenged  by  the 
familiar  interrogation  Quern  quaerilis.  This  bit  of  action  may 
show  the  influence  of  the  Elevatio , as  may  also  the  kiss  bestowed 
upon  the  bishop  by  one  of  those  who  take  part  in  the  dialogue.65 

Conditions  somewhat  similar  to  those  at  Parma  are  found 
in  connection  with  the  cathedral  of  Soissons,  the  ordinaria  of 
which  provide,  in  the  first  place,  for  the  consecration  on  Holy 
Thursday  of  three  Hosts  as  follows: 

< IN  CCENA  DOMINI> 

Sciendum  autem  quod  die  ista  tres  hostie  proponantur  in  altari: 
Ia  pro  presenti  Miss  a;  ID  pro  crastina;  IIIa  reservetur  usque  ad  diem 

64  With  this  versicle  begins  Matins. 

65  Concerning  the  Pax  in  certain  versions  of  the  Elevatio  see  below,  pp. 
65-67,  88,  89,  97,  109. 


46 


UNIVERSITY  OF  WISCONSIN  STUDIES 


Resurrectionis.  Que  deferantur  a Diacono  ad  sacrarium  in  uasculo 

QUOD  DEPENDET  SUPER  ALTARE,  UT  IBI  RESERVENTUR,  CEREO  ANTE  ACCENSO.66 

It  will  be  observed  that  the  third  Host  is  reserved,  not  for 
burial  in  the  sepulchrum  on  Good  Friday,  but  for  some  cere- 
monial, not  yet  specified,  on  Easter.  The  object  placed  in  the 
sepulchrum  on  Good  Friday  is  not  the  Host,  but  the  Gospel- 
book,  as  we  learn  from  the  following  rubric: 

Finito  Evangelio  Subdiaconus  ACCIPIAT  ILLUD  ET  QUASI  IN  OCCULTO  SUB 
INFULA  SUA  VELUT  IN  SINU  SUO  DEFERAT  AD  SEPULCHRUM,  CLERICULO  CUM 
THURE  PRECEDENTE;  IMPOSITOQUE  SUPER  ALTARE  QUOD  EST  IN  SEPULCHRO, 
AMBO  REUERTANTUR.67 

The  or  do  of  Good  Friday  provides  in  no  way  for  a burial  of 
a Host. 

A special  form  of  the  Elevatio  appears  in  the  ordo  for  Easter 
Matins:68 

< ELEVATIO  HOSTLE  ET  VISITATIO  SEPULCHRI>69 

SUMMO  DILUCULO  PULSENTUR  OMNIA  SIGNA;  DEIN  BIN  A ET  BINA.  Ad  ULTI- 
MUM  UERO  TUM  SLMUL  ITERUM  PULSENTUR.  PAUIMENTUM  INTEREA  TOTIUS 
PRESBYTERII  ET  CHORI  EDERA  ET  ALIJS  UERLDIBUS  FOLIJS  STERNATUR.  ECCLESIA 
PRETEREA,  CEREIS  ACCENSIS,  A CAPITE  USQUE  AD  PEDES  PER  CIRCUITUM  UESTIA- 
TUR.  Altare  SACROSANCTUM  AMPLIFICATO  NUMERO  CEREORUM  LUMINE 
CLRCUMDETUR.  NUMERUS  UERO  CEREORUM  CIRCA  ALTARE  ET  ANTE  SIT 
LXXXXa,  ETUNUS  FUNICULUS  INSUPER  A CAPITE  USQUE  AD  PEDES  PRETEND ATUR; 
IN  QUO  CIRCULUS  QUID  AM  FERREUS  HABENS  V II  CEREOS  SUPER  OSTIUM  SEPUL- 
CHRI  IN  ALTUM  DEPENDEAT.  ClRCULUS  AUTEM  ISTE  QUI  ET  STELLA  A NOBIS 
NUNCUPATUR,  UERUM  LUCIFERUM,  QUI  MANE  RESURREXIT,  DESIGNAT.  AdHUC 
AUTEM  X CEREI  .AD  CRUCIFIXUM  ACCENDANTUR.  In  INITIO  UERO  OMNIUM 
ISTORUM  CUNCTUS70  CLERICUS  DEFERAT  CUM  SUMMO  HONORE  AD  SEPULCHRUM  IN 
SUPERPELLICIO  CORPUS  DOMINICUM  IN  UASCULO  A DIE  CENE  RESERUATUM, 
PONENS  ILLUD  SUPER  ALTARE. 

HlS  PERACTIS,  DUOBUS  SACERDOTIBUS  ANTIQUIORIBUS  AC  DUOBUS  DlACONIS 
IN  CHORO  SEDENTIBUS  CUM  CAPIS  DE  PALLIO,  PONTIFEX  IN  SEDE  SUA  CUM  CAPA 
DE  PALLIO  MITRATUS  STANS  INCIPIT: 


66  Rituale  seu  Mandatum  insignis  ecclesiae  Suessionensis,  Soissons,  1856, 
pp.  68-69.  The  manuscript  (saec.  xii-xiii)  is  described  on  pp.  vii-x. 

67  Rituale  . . . ecclesiae  Suessionensis,  Soissons,  1856,  p.  86. 

68  This  ordo  is  printed  by  Martene  (pp.  496-498)  from  a “Rituale  vetus 
tempore  Nivelonis  II  episcopi  scriptum”  ( i.e .,  13th  century).  From  Martene, 
Lange  (p.  26)  reprints,  with  very  unfortunate  omissions.  Martene’s  text  and 
that  now  reprinted  from  the  edition  of  1856  differ  only  in  unimportant  details. 

69  Rituale  . . . ecclesiae  Suessionensis,  Soissons,  1856,  pp.  108-110. 

70  cunctus]  cunctos  {Rituale). 


YOUNG — THE  EASTER  SEPULCHRE 


47 


Domine,  labia  mea  aperies.  Deus  in  adiutorium. 

71 

Quo72  finito,  cum  Gloria,  iterum  incipiant  ipsum  Cantor  et  Succentor 
r < esponsorium  > : Dum  transisset. 

Tunc  eat  processio  ad  Sepulchrum  sic.  Pueri  primum  ferentes  tin- 

TINABULA,  ALIJ  CUM  UEXILLIS.  DEIN  CANDELABRA,  THURIBULA,  CRUCES 

quatuor.  Subdiaconus  in  albis  hos  sequatur.  Duo  presbyteri  cum 

CAPIS  DE  PALLIO,  CETERI  QUOQUE  IN  ORDINE  SUO.  Ad  ULTIMUM  EPISCOPUS  CUM 
BACULO  PASTORALI  ET  MITRA  ET  CAPA  DE  PALLIO,  CUM  IPSO  UERO  CAPELLANUS. 

Et  cum  peruentum  fuerit  ad  Sepulchrum,  inueniantur  ibi  preparati 
duo  Diacones  albis  simplicibus,  capitibus  amictis  coopertis,  niueis 
dalmaticis  superindutj.  Hij  in  similitudinem  angelorum  ad  fenestram 

STANTES  SePULCHRI,  UNUS  AD  DEXTERAM,  ALTUS  AD  SINISTRAM,  UOCE  HUMILIMA 
ET  CAPITIBUS  INCLINATIS  UERSISQUE  AD  SEPULCHRUM: 

Quem  queritis  in  sepulchro,  o Xpisticole? 

Duo  PRESBYTERI  PREDICTI  CUM  CAPIS  DE  PALLIO  IN  LOCO  MaRIARUM: 
Ihesum  Nazarenum  crucifixum,  o Celicole, 

Duo  Diaconi  angeli: 

Non  est  hie;  surrexit  sicut  predixerat;  ite,  nuniiate  quia  surrexit. 

Presbyteri  qui  et  Marie  dicuntur  uoce  altiori  respondeant: 

Alleluya,  resurrexit  Dominus  hodie,  resurrexit  leo  fortis,  Xpistus  filius 
Dei;  Deo  gracias  dicite  eya. 

Tunc  Capellanus  de  Sepulchro  ab  intus  in  superpellicio  stans  porri- 

GAT  DiACONIS  UASCULUM  CUM  CORPORE  DOMINICO,  ET  STATIM  PULSENTUR 
TINTINNABULA  ET  OMNIA  SIGNA  ECCLESIE.  CANTOR  AUTEM  INCIPIAT: 

Xpistus  resurgens<ex  mortuis  iam  non  moritur;  mors  illi  ultra  non 
dominabitur,  alleluia,  alleluia.  > 73 

Tunc  extendat  uelum  quoddam  super  Corpus  Dominicum  a Subdiaconis 

QUATUOR;  CEREI  QUOQUE  CUM  UEXILLIS,  THURIBULIS,  ET  CRUCIBUS  PRECEDANT. 

Presbyteri  nempe  predicti,  acceptis  thuribus,  conducant  illud  semper 

INCENSANTES,  UNUS  A DEXTERIS  ET  ALIUS  A SINISTRIS,  STELLA  PREDICTA  SEMPER 

duce.  Quo  deportato  a Diaconis  honorifice  et  super  altare  oblato, 

FERRA  CIRCA  ALTARE  CLAUDATUR ; FINITAQUE  ANTIPHON  A SUPERIORI,  XpistUS 

resurgens,  Episcopus  in  sede  sua  stans  iussu  Cantoris  incipiat: 

Te  Deum  laudamus. 

Qui  dum  cantatur  a choro,  duo  maiora  signa  tantummodo  pulsentur. 

InTEREA  VEXILLE,  CRUCES,  CEREI,  THURIBULA  CUM  TINTINNABULIS  SONANTIBUS 
ANTE  ALTARE  MORENTUR. 

Finito  Te  Deum,  iterum  omnia  signa  pulsentur.  Incensum  quoque 
illud  quod  a Presbyteris  Dominico  Corpori  offertur,  ab  ipsis  Episcopo, 


71  Here  I omit  the  usual  liturgical  routine  of  the  Roman  type  of  Easter 
Matins.  See  Publications  of  the  Modern  Language  Association,  Vol.  XXIV 
(1909),  p.  310,  note  2. 

72  This  refers  to  the  third  responsory  of  Matins. 

73  Antiphon  at  the  Communio  of  the  Mass  of  Wednesday  in  Easter  Week. 
See  Migne,  Pat.  Lot.,  LXXVIII,  679. 


48 


UNIVERSITY  OF  WISCONSIN  STUDIES 


Cantori,  et  Succentori,  et  omnibus  Presbyteris  in  choro  defertur. 
Dein  a clericulis  ceteris  deportetur. 

The  ceremonial  here  described  begins  early  on  Easter  morn- 
ing, before  Matins.  The  choir  is  strewn  with  green  branches, 
the  altar  and  church  are  profusely  lighted,  a crown  of  seven 
candles  is  suspended  over  the  door  of  the  sepulchrum , and  ten 
candles  are  lighted  at  the  Crucifix.74  Meanwhile  the  Host 
reserved  from  Holy  Thursday  is  for  the  first  time  brought  to 
the  sepulchrum  and  placed  upon  the  altar.75  In  so  far  as  this 
act  represents  a Deposition  it  is  obviously  inappropriate  to 
Easter  morning. 

After  the  third  responsory  of  Matins  of  the  usual  Roman 
type76  occurs  an  office  in  which  the  Elevatio  and  Visitatio  are 
combined.  When  the  procession  reaches  the  sepulchrum,  two 
deacons  in  appropriate  vestments,  representing  angels,  utter 
the  angelic  challenge  Quern  quaeritis,  and  continue  the  familiar 
dialogue  with  two  priests  vested  in  copes.  Then  occurs  the 
Elevatio.  A chaplain, — apparently  from  within  the  sepul- 
chrum,— hands  to  the  deacons  ( angeli ) the  Host  while  the  choir 
sings  the  antiphon  Christus  resurgens.  After  the  Host  has  been 
deposited  upon  the  main  altar  within  the  choir,  and  after  the 
iron  rail  about  the  altar  has  been  closed,  the  Te  Deum  is  sung. 
During  the  singing  of  the  Te  Deu?n  the  bells  are  sounded,  and 
the  Host  and  altar  are  censed.77 


74  Possibly  this  crucifix  is  located  at  the  door  between  choir  and  nave. 

75  As  to  the  location  of  this  altar  with  respect  to  the  sepulchrum,  I am  uncer- 
tain. Since  the  sepulchrum  seeips  to  be  capacious  enough  to  allow  the  entrance 
of  a capellanus,  the  structure  may  take  the  form  of  a chapel,  with  an  altar  within. 

76  See  the  note  to  the  text  above. 

77  For  its  information  concerning  the  symbolic  use  of  incense  in  Easter 
Matins  I quote  from  the  Soissons  Rituale  (pp.  110-111)  a passage  that  imme- 
diately follows  the  text  of  the  Visitatio  printed  above: 

Notandum  uero  quod  ad  similitudinem  trium  Mariarum,  incensum  hodie 
ad  Sepulchrum  tantum  defertur  in  initio  lectionum  sic:  Incepto  Euangelio, 
Decanus  et  Ebdomadarius  exeant  de  Sacrario  cum  Capis  de  pallio,  Clericulis 
precedentibus  cum  Thuribulis  et  igne;  presententque  se  Episcopo  in  igne 
mittentes  incensum,  Episcopo  dante  benedictionem.  Quo  facto,  eant  simul  ad 
altare.  Episcopus  autem  accipiens  Thuribulum,  offerat  incensum  sacrosancto 
altari  et  Decanus  cum  illo.  Interea  Clericuli,  elevatis  Cereis  suis,  teneant  illos 
ante  altare.  Quo  facto,  Episcopo  in  sede  sua  regresso,  offerant  incensum  De- 
canus et  Ebdomadarius.  Postea  cum  Cereis  eant  ad  Sepulchrum  illud  offerre, 


YOUNG — THE  EASTER  SEPULCHRE 


49 


In  this  version  from  Soissons  we  encounter  for  the  first  time 
an  intimate  combination  of  Visitatio  and  Elevatio;  and  we  must 
observe  at  once  that  the  combination  is  not  entirely  successful 
from  the  point  of  view  of  dramatic  sequence.  Nothing  is 
clearer  logically  than  that  the  Elevatio  should  precede  the 
Visitatio.  The  Quem  quaeritis  dialogue,  with  its  Non  est  hie , 
obviously  implies  an  empty  sepulchrum.  In  the  present  ver- 
sion, however,  the  implication  is  false,  for  the  Corpus  Dominicum 
is  not  removed  from  the  sepulchre  until  after  the  delivery  of 
dialogue  mentioned. 

In  connection  with  this  dialogue  it  is  important  to  observe 
also  that  whatever  of  impersonation  is  present  in  the  version 
before  us  attaches  itself  to  the  Visitatio  element  and  not  to  the 
Elevatio.  In  the  Elevatio  is  found  no  such  rubric  as  that  pre- 
scribing the  impersonation  of  the  angels  at  the  supposedly 
empty  tomb : Duo  Diacones  albis  simplicibus,  capitibus  amictis 
coopertis , niueis  dalmaticis  superinduti  . ...  in  similitudinem 
angelorum.78 

Similar  to  this  version  from  Soissons,  in  some  respects,  is 
the  following,  from  the  cathedral  of  Laon:79 

< ELEVATIO  HOSTLE  ET  VISITATIO  SEPULCHRI>80 
In  Pascha  ad  Matutinas  due  compane  insimul  pulsantur;  sex  cerei 

JUXTA  MAGNUM  CEREUM  ANTE  ALTARE  PONUNTUR.  DUM  CAMPANE  PULSANTUR, 
PROCESSIO  ANTE  ALTARE  IN  HUNC  MODUM  ORDINATA  VADIT  AD  SEPULCHRUM. 
PRECEDUNT  CLERICULI  CUM  CEREIS,  DUO  CUM  THURIBULIS,  DUO  DIACONI,  ALII 

duo  cantaturi  Dicant  nunc,  CANTOR,  et  succentor,  omnes  isti  albis  CAPIS 

INDUTI.  ALn  SEQUUNTUR  IN  ORDINE,  UNUSQUISQUE  CEREUM  ACCENSUM 
DEFERENS.  PREDICTI  VERO  DIACONI  AD  OSTIUM  SEPULCHRI  VENIENTES  IN- 

cipiunt  : 

Ardens  est  < cor  meum,  desidero  videre  Dominum  meum;  quaero  et  non 
invenio  ubi  posuerunt  eum,  alleluia.  > 81 


Clerico  custode  cum  Capa  de  pallio  acerram  cum  incenso  perferente.  Quo  facto, 
reuersi  in  Chorum,  Cantori  et  Succentori,  ceterisque  in  ordine  suo  defertur. 
Processione  presenti  peracta,  uicem  secundam  impleuimus,  in  fine  Matutinarum, 
Tertiam  exsoluemus.  V.  post  Te  Deum.  Episcopus.  Surrexit  Dominus  uere. 
Chorus.  Et  apparuit  Symoni.  Alleluya. 

78  See  below,  pp.  128-129. 

79  U.  Chevalier,  Ordinaires  de  VlZglise  Cathedrale  de  Laon  (Bibliotheque 
Liturgique,  VI),  Paris,  1897,  pp.  118-119,  from  Laon  MS  215  of  the  period 
1173-1249.  From  Laon  we  have  no  text  of  a Depositio. 

80  Chevalier,  pp.  118-119. 

81  Antiphon  of  Easter  season.  See  Migne,  Pat.  Lat.,  LXXVIII,  775. 


50 


UNIVERSITY  OF  WISCONSIN  STUDIES 


Clericulus  in  Sepulchro: 

Quem  queritis. 

Diaconi: 

Jhesum  Nazarenum. 

Clericulus: 

Non  est  hie. 

Quo  FINITO  SACERDOS  ALBA  CASULA  VESTITUS,  PORTANS  CALICEM  CUM  COR- 
PORE  XpISTI,  EGREDIENS  DE  SePULCHRO  REPPERIT  ANTE  OSTIUM  QUATUOR 
CLERICULOS  PALLIUM  SUPER  BACULOS  TOLLENTES;  ET  ILLO  PROTECTUS  INCEDIT 
ANTE  PROCESSIONEM,  PRECEDENTIBUS  CLERICULIS  CUM  CE  REIS,  ASTANTIBUS 
ALIIS  DUOBUS  JUXTA  IPSUM  CUM  THURIBULIS.  TUNC  DIACONI  PREDICTI  DICUNT  : 
Surrexit  Dominus  vere,  alleluia. 

Post  hec  cantor  et  succentor  incipiunt  illam  partem  antiphone  : 

Cum  rex  glorie  Xpistus.82  Advenisti  desiderabilis. 

Et  sic  cantando  procedunt  omnes  in  medio  ecclesie  ante  Crucifixum. 
Post  antiphon  am: 

Christus  resurgens<ex  mortuis  iam  non  moritur,  mors  illi  ultra  non 
dominabitur,  quod  enim  vivit,  vivit  Deo,  alleluia,  aileluia>, 

DUO  CANONICI  CUM  CAPIS  VERSUM: 

Dicant  nuncCjudaei  quomodo  milites  custodientes  sepulchrum  per- 
diderunt  regem  ad  lapidis  positionem,  quare  non  servabant  petram  justi- 
ciae;  aut  sepultum  reddant  aut  resurgentem  adorent,  nobiscum  dicentes 
alleluia,  alleluia.  > 

Post  v<ersum>processio,  cantando  Quod  enim  vivit,  vivit  Deo,  intrat 

CHORUM.  SACERDOS  CALICEM  SUPER  ALTARE  DEPONIT.  INTERIM  CAMPANE 
INSIMUL  PULSANTUR.83 

This  ceremonial  occurs  before  Matins.  The  procession  sets 
out  from  the  main  altar,  and  when  it  reaches  the  door  of  the 
sepulchrum,  two  deacons  in  the  procession  sing  the  antiphon 
Ardens  est.  A cleric  within  the  sepulchrum  now  sings  the 
interrogation  Quem  quaeritis,  and  continues  the  familiar  dia- 
logue with  the  two  deacons  of  the  procession.  Then  a priest 
issues  from  the  sepulchre  carrying  a chalice  containing  the 
Host,84  which  is  carried  in  procession  to  a place  before  the 
Crucifix,85  appropriate  persons  meanwhile  singing  Surrexit 
Dominus  and  Cum  rex  glorice.  At  the  Crucifix  is  sung  the 
antiphon  Christus  resurgens,  after  which  the  priest  places  the 
chalice  upon  the  main  altar. 

82  Xpistus]  Xpiste  (Chevalier). 

83  Matins  follows  immediately. 

84  Such  is  a fair,  but  not  an  inevitable,  interpretation  of  the  rubric  bortans 
calicem  cum  Corpore  Christi.  See  above,  pp.  14,  16. 

86  Possibly  this  Crucifix  is  at  the  entrance  to  the  choir  from  the  nave. 


YOUNG THE  EASTER  SEPULCHRE 


51 


It  will  be  observed  that  in  the  combining  of  Elevatio  and 
Visitatio  this  version  is  not  essentially  different  from  that  of 
Soissons.  Once  more  the  Visitatio  inappropriately  precedes 
the  Elevatio . 

Another  text  of  this  office  from  Laon  appears  as  follows:86 

< ELEVATIO  HOSTLE  ET  VISITATIO  SEPULCIIRI>8T 

IN  DIE  PaSCILE  AD  MATUTINUM  DU/E  MAGNiE  camp  an.®  de  miraculis  in- 
SIMUL  PULSANTUR.  PROCESSIO  VADIT  AD  SEPULCRUM  ORDINATA  IN  MODUM 
QUI  SEQUITUR.  PRIMO  PR.ECEDIT  CLERICULUS  AQUAM  BENEDICT  AM  DEFERENS; 
HUNC  SEQUUNTUR  DUO  CLERICULI  FERENTES  INSIGNIA,  DUO  ALII  CLERICULI 
FERENTES  CEREOS,  DUO  ALII  CLERICULI  CAPPIS  SERICIS  INDUTI  FERENTES  DUAS 
CRUCES  AUREASJ  HOS  SEQUUNTUR  CLERICULI.  DeINDE  CANTOR  & SUCCENTOR 
CAPPIS  SERICIS  INDUTI,  PORTANTES  BACULOS  DEARGENTATOS  IN  MANIBUS. 
DEINDE  DUO  DlACONI  SIMILITER  CAPPIS  SERICIS  INDUTI,  & QUATUOR  SUBDIACONI 
CANONICI  ALBIS  TUNICIS  INDUTI,  PALLIUM  SUPRA  BRACHIUM  TENENTES.  IioS 
SEQUUNTUR  ALII  COMBINATI,  UNUSQUISQUE  CEREUM  ACCENSUM  DEFERENS. 
PR.EDICTI  vero  DlACONI  AD  OSTIUM  Sepulcri  VENIENTES  incipiunt  : 

Ardens  est. 

Clericulus  stans  in  Sepulcro  respondet: 

Quem  quaeritis? 

Diaconi  : 

Jesum  Nazarenum. 

Clericulus: 

Non  est  hie. 

Postea  Cantor  & Succentor  incipiunt: 

Surrexit  Dominus  vere,  alleluia. 

Deinde  prosam:88 

Victimae  paschali  laudes. 

Et  SIC  CANTANDO  PROCEDUNT  ANTE  CRUCIFIXUM  IN  MEDIO  ECCLESI®,  Sacer- 
DOS  ALBA  CASULA  VESTITUS,  portans  calicem  cum  Corpore  Christi,  EGRE- 
diens  de  Sepulcro  reperit  ante  ostium  quatuor  Subdiaconos,  albis 

TUNICIS  INDUTOS,  PALLIUM  SUPER  BACULUM  TOLLF.NTES,  & ILLO  PROTECTUS 
INCEDIT  IN  FINE  PROCESSIONIS,  PRAECEDENTIBUS  DUOBUS  CLERICULIS  CUM 
CEREIS,  & ALIIS  DUOBUS  JUXTA  IPSUM  CUM  THURIBULIS.  DUM  AUTEM  PROCESSIO 
PERVENERIT  IN  MEDIO  ECCLESLE  CANTOR  & SUCCENTOR  INCIPIUNT  R < ESPONSOR- 

ium  > : 

Christus  resurgens. 


86  Martene,  pp.  478-479,  from  a “vetus  ordinarium  optimae  notae,  ante  an- 
nos  400  scriptum.”  We  may  date  this  manuscript,  then,  about  the  year  1300. 
It  may  be  observed  that  Martene’s  text  does  not  differ  substantially  from  the 
text  indicated  by  the  erasures  and  marginal  entries  in  Laon  MS  215  used  by 
Chevalier.  See  Chevalier,  p.  118.  A mutilated  reprint  of  Marine’s  text  is 
given  by  Lange,  p.  30. 

87  Martene,  pp.  478-479. 

88  prosam]  psal.  (Martene). 


52 


UNIVERSITY  OF  WISCONSIN  STUDIES 


Duo  Diaconi  cant  ant  v<ersum>  : 

Dicant  nunc. 

Quo  CANTATO  PROCESSIO  INTRAT  CHORUM  CANTANDO: 

Quod  enim  vivit. 

Sacerdos  calicem  super  altare  deponit.  Interim  camp  an.®  simul 

PULSANTUR.  EPISCOPUS  STANS  IN  CATHEDRA  MITRA  & CAPPA  PR.EPARATUS 
incipit:  Domine,  labia  mea  aperies.89 

This  text  differs  from  the  preceding  one  only  in  details, 
such  as  a more  extended  ordo  for  the  procession  to  the  sepul- 
chrum  and  the  substitution  of  the  sequence  Victimce  paschali 
for  the  antiphon  Cum  rex  glories. 

For  our  knowledge  of  the  ceremonial  of  the  sepulchrum  at 
Laon,  however,  we  are  not  confined  to  these  texts  from  the 
ordinaria.  This  cathedral  was  fortunate  in  having  as  dean, 
about  the  middle  of  the  seventeenth  century,  Antoine  Bellotte, 
a liturgiologist  of  the  first  order.90  In  his  monumental  volume 
Ritus  Ecclesice  Laudunensis 91  this  author  describes  the  dramatic 
office  of  Easter  morning  as  follows:92 


89  With  this  formula  Matins  begins. 

90  He  was  dean  from  1650-1662.  See  Chevalier,  pp.  vii-viii. 

91  Paris,  1652. 

92  Bellotte,  pp.  215-217.  The  same  author  provides  also  (p.  819)  a shorter 
description  of  this  office  as  follows : 

Vtrumque  solet  Ecclesia  Laudunensis  obire,  dum  summo  mane  paulo  post 
medium  noctis  pulsantur  in  ea  campanae  pro  singulari  festiuae  exultationis  signa- 
culo;  & circa  horam  diluculi,  conueniunt  omnes  in  Ecclesiam  candido  apparatu, 
quibus  statim  cerei  diuiduntur,  quibuscum  procedunt  ad  altare  sepulcri,  vbi 
fores  occlusae,  & sanctissimum  Corporis,  & Sanguinis  Dominici  sacramentum  in 
altari  repositum,  locum  monumenti  referunt.  Et  dum  ibidem  celebratur  statio, 
Puer  Choralis  adheret  altari  agens  personam  Angeli  sedentis  in  sepulchro, 
dicens:  Quern  queeritis?  Respondentibus  autem  duobus  Diaconis:  Iesutn 
Nazar enum , ipsemet  Puer  symphoniacus  subjungit:  Non  est  hie.  Mox  Cantor 
& Succentor  cappis  sericis  & baculis  choralibus  accincti  incipiunt:  Surrexit 
Dominus  vere,  etc.,  & statim  prae  laetitia  in  jubilum  erumpentes  intonant  hymnum 
Victims,  Paschali  laudes  immolant  Christiani;  & sine  mora  aperiuntur  fores  sepul- 
cri, e quibus  Christus  egreditur  quippe  conditus  in  sepulcro,  cum  sub  mortis 
imperio  captiuus  ess<e>  videretur,  quasi  praeruptis  infemi  tepagulis,  liber  ad 
vitam  rediit,  iuxta  illud  quod  ab  Ecclesia  canitur,  Hodie  portas  mortis  6*  seras 
pariter  Saluator  noster  disrupit.  Tandem  procedunt  omnes  per  circuitum,  & 
mediam  nauim  Ecclesiae  ad  Crucifixum  cum  cereis  ardentibus  in  quibus  lux  est 
vitae,  & resurrectionis  symbolum,  de  quo  in  Pentecostario  Graecorum:  Prodea- 
mus  cum  lampadibus  oibuiam  Christo  ex  monumento  prodeunti,  tanquam  sponso,  &* 
simul  cum  ordinibus  Angelorum  hac  solemnitate  Istantibus  festum  agamus. 


YOUNG — THE  EASTER  SEPULCHRE 


53 


Inter  antiquissimas  Ecclesiae  Christian®  consuetudines  annumeratur  pro- 
cessio,  qu®  solemni  ritu,  quotannis  celebratur  in  Dominica  Resurrectionis  ante 
Matutinum,  quo  tam  salutaris  mysterij  gaudium,  aliquo  l®titi®  signo,  fidelibus 
populis  nuntietur.  Hinc  est,  quod  in  Ecclesia  Laudunensi  summo  mane  pulsan- 
tur  campan®  hora  post  mediam  noctem  secunda  in  signum  festiu®  exultationis, 
priusquam  detur  signum  Matutini.  Quo  tempore  custos  Sacrarij,  vel  alius 
Sacerdos  ad  hoc  deputatus,  superpellicio  & stola  paratus,  accedit  ad  locum 
Pastophorij93  pr®euntibus  duobus  clericulis  cum  cereis  ardentibus,  & inde 
sanctissimum  Sacramentum  reuerenter  & cum  debitis  genuflexionibus  extrahit, 
vbi  pridie  fuerat  ritu  pr®scripto  collocatum;  ipsumque  ambabus  manibus  tenens 
ob  oculos  eleuatum,  defert  super  Altare  Sepulchri,  vndique  cereorum  sufficienti 
numero  collustratum,  vt  locus  lucidior  appareat,  & nox  ipsa  quasi  dies  illumine- 
tur;  nullusque  S®cularium  illuc  accedit,  nec  vllus  alius  pr®ter  Clericos  qui  dicti 
Sepulchri  ritibus  & ceremonijs  inseruire  debent,  ac  qui  proinde  fuerint  chorali 
veste  parati. 

Hora  vero  quarta  matutina  conueniunt  in  Ecclesiam  omnes  de  Clero,  Episco- 
pus,  vel  Decanus,  aut  Sacerdos  Hebdomadarius  in  Sacrarium,  cum  ijs  qui 
futur®  processioni  debent  inseruire.  Canonici  vero  Chorum  intrant,  in  albis, 
hoc  est,  superpelliceis,  armilauzis  parati,  vbi  stant  in  subsellijs,  vsque  ad  initium 
pr®fate  processionis.  Celebrans  & ministri  parantur  vestimentis  albi  coloris, 
ordini  suo  congruentibus;  vbi  Celebrans  & duo  ex  senioribus  Sacerdotibus 
Canonicis  induunt  plane  tam  Subdiaconi  vero  pallium;  seu  baldachinum  delaturi 
tunicas  sine  manipulis.  Mox  erogantur  cerei  singulis  Canoncis  & alijs  de  gremio 
Ecclesi®  per  Custodes  Laicos,  tam  in  Choro,  quam  in  Sacrario,  dignioribus 
primo,  subinde  junioribus  per  ordinem,  eodem  ritu  quo  in  festo,  seu  processione 
Purificationis  Beate  Mari®,  quos  singuli  deferre  debent  in  honorem  sanctissimi 
Sacramenti  toto  tempore  processionis. 

Plis  vt  supra  dispositis,  accenduntur  pr®dicti  cerei  per  ministros  ecclesi®, 
qui  candelam  accendunt  primi  cujusque  ordinis  ab  vtraque  parte  Chori,  vt 
c®teri  deinde  sibi  mutuo  candelas  suas  accendant;  & dato  signo  procedendi, 
duo  Diaconi  pluuialibus  induti  procedunt  de  Sacrario  in  Chorum,  cum  alijs 
ministris,  hoc  ordine.  Pr®cedunt  duo  Acolythi  deferentes  candelabra  cum 
cereis  accensis,  turn  duo  Clericuli,  qui  Cruces  aureas  deferunt  processionales. 
Has  sequuntur  duo  pr®dicti  Diaconi  pluuialibus  induti;  deinde  Pr®centores 
cappis  & baculis  choralibus  accincti;  postremo  quatuor  Subdiaconi  tunicis  albi 
coloris  induti,  qui  hastas  pallij  seu  baldachini  deferre  debent,  omnes  ex  ordine 
Canonicorum.  A dextris  & a sinistris  eorum  incedunt  ab  vtraque  parte  omnes 
de  choro,  primo  Pueri  chorales,  deinde  Mansionarij  & Capellani;  postea  Canonici 
secundum  ordinem  antiquitatis  vel  dignitatis;  ita  tamen,  vt  discedentes  a 
subselliis  dexter®  partis,  migrent  in  sinistram;  & qui  stant  a sinistra  transeant 
ad  dexteram,  suas  quinque  candelas  ita  deferentes  propriis  manibus,  vt  qui 
procedunt  a dextris,  dextra;  qui  vero  a sinistris,  sinistra  deferant  paululum  ad 
extra  inclinatas. 

Probably  the  most  significant  aspect  of  this  passage  is  the  symbolizing  of  the 
opening  of  the  sepulchrum  as  the  Harrowing  of  Hell. 

93  The  pastophorium  is  some  sort  of  sacristy,  which,  as  we  learn  below,  is  on 
the  left  side  of  the  choir. 


54 


UNIVERSITY  OF  WISCONSIN  STUDIES 


Proceditur  autem  per  speciosam  portam  chori,  recta  per  mediam  nauim 
versus  Sepulchrum,  quo  peruenientes  qui  deferunt  baldachinum,  seu  pallium, 
consistunt  ante  ostium  prsefati  Sepulchri,  facie  versa  ad  Altare,  in  quo  existit 
sanctissimum  Sacramentum,  stantibus  in  eadem  regione  seu  praecinctu  Ecclesie, 
omnibus  de  choro  vultibus  ad  inuicem  conuersis  dum  Celebrans  transit  de 
Sacrario  in  Sepulchrum  per  aditum  secretiorem,  a duobus  praedictis  seniorbus 
Canonicis  comitatus  qui  velum  in  modum  gremialis  ipsum  deferunt,  sequentibus 
eos  duobus  Thuriferariis,  cum  thuribulis  igne  tantum  refertis.  Quo  cum  peruen- 
iunt,  Celebrans  statim  genuflectit  in  infimo  gradu  Altaris  ante  sanctissimum 
Sacramentum,  caeteris  post  eum  in  piano  genuflexis,  vbi  aliquantulum  orant 
dum  praedicti  duo  Diaconi,  stantes  ad  ostium  Sepulchri,  cantant  insimul, 
Ardens  est.  Quo  decantato  Clericulus  juxta  dictum  Sepulchrum  stans  in  abs- 
condito,  respondet  eodem  tono,  Quern  quaeritis.  Turn  duo  supradicti  Diaconi, 
iterum  cantant  Iesum  Nazarcenum;  ad  quos  idem  Clericulus  dicit  vt  supra 
cantando,  Non  est  hie.  Mox  Praecentores  incipiunt,  Surrexit  Dominus  vere, 
alleluya.  Deinde  sequitur  immediate  Prosa  Victimce  Paschali  laudes,  quam 
praedicti  Praecentores  similiter  incipiunt.  Tunc  Celebrans  surgit,  curatque 
incensum  imponi  in  thuribuliim;  deinde  genufiexus  ad  oram  suppedanei,  triplici 
ductu  incensat  sanctissimum  Sacramentum  cum  debitis  inclinationibus;  & 
reddito  thuribulo,  accedit  ad  Altare,  vbi  iterata  genuflexione  sumit  reuerenter 
sanctissimum  Sacramentum,  ambabus  manibus  tenens  ante  faciem  eleuatum. 

Sumpto  vt  supra  sanctissimo  Sacramento,  Celebrans  descendit  in  planum 
Sepulchri,  & inde  incipit  procedere  pallio  feu  baldachino  protectus,  praecedenti- 
bus  eum  praedictis  duobus  senioribus  Canonicis  praedictum  velum  hinc  & inde 
ferentibus.  Mox  duo  Thuriferarij  cum  thuribulis  igne  & incenso  refertis, 
recessim  incedentes,  incensant  continuo  sanctissimum  Sacramentum,  ac  eodem 
tempore  incedunt  omnes  de  Clero  nudo  capite,  aequali  passu,  parem  inter  se 
mutuo  seruantes  distantiam,  cauentes  praecipue  ne  vltimi,  plus  justo  distent  a 
sanctissimo  Sacramento.  Proceditur  autem  circumcirca  ecclesiam  a praedicto 
loco  Sepulchri  vsque  ad  majorem  porticum  versus  Occidentem,  & ab  eo  per 
mediam  nauim,  in  qua  sistit  processio  per  modum  stationis  ante  Crucifixum, 
vbi  Praecentores  incipiunt  responsorium  Christus  resurgens;  cujus  versum  can- 
tant duo  praedicti  Diaconi  pluuialibus  induti,  cum  quibus  omnes  de  Choro 
genuflectunt  sanctissimo  Sacramento  ad  ipsum  conuersi,  ad  haec  verba,  aut 
Resurgentem  adorent  nobiscum  dicentes. 

Sub  finem  praedictae  stationis,  dum  repetitur  a choro  pars  praedicti  Respon- 
sorij,  processio  intrat  Chorum,  vbi  omnes  a subselliis  iterum  genuflexione 
adorant  sanctissimum  Sacramentum  eo  tempore  quo  transit  per  medium  Chori. 
Et  cum  Celebrans  ascendit  gradus  Altaris,  sistunt  qui  baldachinum  seu  pallium 
deferunt,  et  statim  illud  a medio  collocant  a latere  juxta  Pastophorium  a sinistra 
parte  Presbyterij,  donee  ofhcio  completo  remoueatur  per  custodem  sacrarij. 
Thuriferarij  vero  peruenientes  ad  infimum  gradum  Altaris,  secedunt  paululum 
ab  utraque  parte,  viam  praebentes  Celebranti,  qua  per  medium  eorum  transire 
possit,  et  tunc  cessant  a thurificatione,  ac  ibidem  in  piano  genuflexi,  cum  prae- 
dictis duobus  senioribus  canonicis  in  infimo  gradu  altaris  genuflectentibus, 
sanctissimum  Sacramentum  adorant.  Celebrans  interim  ascendit  ad  altare, 
vbi  stans  conuertit  se  statim  ad  Chorum  sanctissimum  Sacramentum  tenens, 


YOUNG — THE  EASTER  SEPULCHRE 


55 


vt  prius,  ante  faciem  eleuatum,  omnesque  simul  cum  eo  benedicit,  signum  Crucis 
cum  debita  mora  producens;  attolit  enim  Sacramentum  paulatim,  vsque  dum 
pars  ilia  calicis  quem  ambabus  manibus  tenet  respondeat  oculis,  ac  eodem  modo 
demittit  infra  pectus;  deinde  ad  humerum  sinistrum  ducit,  & ad  dextrum 
reducit;  iterumque  ad  pectus;  et  post  breuem  morularrt  versus  cornu  Euangelij 
conuertit  se  ad  altare,  nihil  dicens,  stantibus  interim  omnibus  de  Choro,  qui  a 
subsellijs  suis  summo  silcntio  et  profundissima  inclinatione  totius  corporis 
sanctissimum  Sacramentum  adorant. 

Circulo  facto,  Celebrans  deponit  SS.  Sacramentum  super  altare  conuertens 
imaginem  Hostiae  ad  Chorum,  & facta  genuflexione,  descendit  ad  oram  suppe- 
danei,  vbi  genuflexus  sumit  thuribulum,  in  quod  incensum  curat  imponi  absque 
benedictione,  quo  triplici  ductu  incensat  sanctissimum  Sacramentum  cum 
debitis  inclinationibus;  et  reddito  thuribulo,  surgit  omnibus  etiam  surgentibus; 
mox  signans  se  in  ore  pollice  dexterae  manus,  relictis  digitis  extensis,  alta  voce 
Matutinum  incipit  dicens,  Domine  labia  mea  aperies. 

Although  Bellotte  may  have  based  this  description  upon 
the  very  text  quoted  above  from  an  ordinarium  of  about  the 
year  1200, 94  he  adds,  from  authorities"  not  specified,  some 
information  not  available  elsewhere.  In  the  first  place,  he 
explains  the  presence  of  the  Host  in  the  sepiilchrum.  It  appears 
that  at  two  o’clock,  before  Matins,  on  Easter  morning  the 
Host  is  removed  from  the  sacristy  ( pastophorium ),  in  which  it 
had  been  deposited  on  the  preceding  day,  and  is  placed  upon 
the  brilliantly  lighted  altar  of  the  sepiilchrum.  This  act  may  be 
regarded  as  in  some  way  a substitute  for  the  Deposition — a 
substitute  similar  to  that  employed  in  the  cathedral  of  Soissons. 
Unlike  the  use  of  Soissons,  however,  the  Laon  ceremony  sepa- 
rates the  Depositio  from  the  subsequent  Visitatio-Elevatio, 
not  by  the  singing  of  Matins,  but  only  by  a vacant  interval  of 
some  hours.  At  Laon,  in  other  words,  the  two  ceremonials, 
the  quasi -Depositio  and  the  Visitatio-Elevatio , both  occur  before 
Matins.  In  liturgical  content  the  dramatic  office  described  by 
Bellotte  is  essentially  similar  to  that  reported  by  Martene. 
Bellotte,  however,  provides  fuller  ceremonial  details  for  the 
procession  and  for  the  adoring  and  censing  of  the  Host  at  the 
main  altar. 

Although  the  ceremonials  of  Laon  are  highly  elaborated, 
their  elaboration  is  brilliantly  exceeded  in  the  dramatic  observ- 
ances from  the  famous  Liber  Sacerdotalis  printed  in  1523  under 


M See  above,  pp.  49-50;  Chevalier,  p.  xii. 


56 


UNIVERSITY  OF  WISCONSIN  STUDIES 


the  editorship  of  Alberto  Castellani.95  The  Depositio  from  this 
book  takes  the  following  form: 

< DEPOSIT  10  HOSTLE>96 

De  Processiones  in  Feria  VI  in  Parasceue  ad 
Ponendum  Corpus  Dowmni  in  Sepulchro. 

Feria  VI  in  Parasceue  post  Officium  Misse,  vel  etiam  post  prandium, 

ORDINATUR  SOLENNIS  SED  LUGUBRIS  PROCESSIO.  PARATUR  ENIM  SACERDOS 
OMNIBUS  PARAMENTIS  ET  PLUUIALI  DESUPER  CUM  DlACONO  ET  SUBDIACONO  CUWI 
DALMATICIS  NIGRI  COLORIS.  PARANTUR  ETIAM  QWCTUOR  SACERDOTES,  VEL  DUO 
AD  MINUS,  INDUTI  CAMISIIS  NIGRIS  CUM  AMICTU  ET  CINGULO  EIUSDEW  COLORIS  J 
SI  Ha^ERI  POSSUNT  ALIOS,  IN  ALBIS  PARANTUR  ETIAM  DUO  ALII  SACERDOTES, 
VEL  UNUS  TANTUM  UBIPAUCI  FUERINT  SACERDOTES,  CUW  AMICTU,  ALBA,  CIN- 
GULO, MANIPULO,  ET  STOLLA  ET  DUO  THURIFERARII  IN  ALBIS.  PREPARETUR  ETIAM 
FERETRUM  A QMaTUOR  PORTANDUM  CUM  SUPERIORI  COOPERTURA  IN  MODUM 
SEMICIRCULI,  ET  COOPERIATUR  ALIQUO  PANNO  NIGRO  DE  SERICO,  SI  HABERI 
POTERIT,  IN  QUO  SACR AMENTUM  DEPORTETUR.  PARANTUR  ETIAM  LUMINARIA: 
SCILICET  INTORTITIA  ET  CERT,I  AD<FOL.  263v  > ELLUMINANDUM  CORPUS  CHRISTI. 

Et  congregato  populo,  Sacerdos  accepit  reuerenter  Sacramentum 

DE  ALTARI  ET  TENENS  ILLUD  IN  MANIBUS  VERSUS  AD  POPULUM,  OMNIBUS  ALIIS 
genuflexis,  ipse  stans  incipit  r esponsorium:  Plange,  CETERIS  PROSEQUENTI- 
bus: 

Plange  quasi  virgo,  plebs  mea;  ululate,  pastores,  in  cinere  et  cilicio; 
quia  venit  dies  Domini  magna  et  amara  valde.  Duo  clerici  cantent 
versum:97  Accingite  vos,  sacerdotes,  et  plangite;  ministri  altaris  aspergite 
vos  cinere.  Quia.98 

Completo  r esponsorio  cu m versu  et  replica,  duo  Sacerdotes  apparati 

CUM  STOLLIS  VT  SUPRA  STANTES  ANTE  SACRAMENTUM  VERSIS  VULTIBUS  AD 
POPULUM  CANTENT  VERSUM:  Popule  me<US>,  OMNIBUS  ALIIS  PRETER  EUM 
qui  facit  Officium  ge<fol.  264r>NUFLEXis  et  versis  vultibus  ad  Sacra- 
mentum: 


95  Liber  SacerdotaUs  nuperrime  ex  libris  Sancte  Romane  Ecclesie  et  quarum- 
dem  aliarum  ecclesiarum  et  ex  antiquis  codicibus  . . . collectusf  Venetiis,  1523. 
Concerning  the  several  editions  of  this  work  and  its  liturgical  history  see  R. 
Domer,  Die  Auferslehungsfeier  am  Charsamstag  nach  dem  Sacerdotale  Romanian , 
in  Caecilien-Kalender,  Jahrgang  X (1885),  pp.  27-36.  From  an  edition  not  pre- 
cisely indicated,  Domer  (pp.  32-35)  reprints  the  Elevatio-Visitatio.  He  provides 
also  (p.  32)  a brief  description  of  the  Depositio.  I reprint  both  texts  from  the 
edition  of  1523.  It  should  be  observed  that  Castellani  compiled  this  book  from 
the  uses  of  other  localities  than  Rome,  and  that  no  edition  of  the  work  received 
complete  papal  approval  (See  Domer,  pp.  29-30).  The  texts  here  reprinted 
were  communicated  to  me  by  my  friend  Dom  G.  M.  Beyssac,  of  Quarr  Abbey. 

96  Liber  Sacerdotalis,  1523,  fol.  263r-269v. 

97  versum]  printed  twice. 

98  Third  responsory  in  Matins  of  Holy  Saturday.  See  Migne,  Pat.  Lai 
LXXVIII,  768. 


YOUNG — THE  EASTER  SEPULCHRE 


57 


Popule  meus,  quid  feci  tibi,  aut  in  quo  contristaui  te?  responde  mihi, 
quia  eduxi  te  de  terra  Egypti,  parasti  crucem  saluatori  tuo. 

Dicto  versu  predicto,  chorus  genuflexus  vt  supra  cantet: 

Sanctus  Deus,  sanctus  fortis,  sanctus  et  inmortalis,  miserere  nobis. 

Hoc  dicto,  Sacerdos  pon at  Corpus  Dowwni  reuerenter  in  Feretro  quod 

PORTABUNT  QMflTUOR  SACERDOTES  PREDICTI,  VEL  DUO  VBI  PAUCITAS  SACERDOTUM 
EST,  IN  ALBIS  PARATI,  CAPITIBUS  AMICTO  COOPERTIS,  ET  INCEPTO  Responsorio  : 

Recessit  pa<stor>,  procedit  processio  isto  ordine:  Primo  acoliti  cum 

CEREIS  ACCENSIS  ET  CRUCEJ  POSTEA  CLERICI,  IUNIORIBUS  VeSpOHSOrio; 
VLTIMO  DUO  SACERDOTES  PARATI  QUI  CANTAUERUNT:  Popule  meUS.  POST 
IPSOS  SEQUITUR  FeRETRUM  CUM  CORPORE  DoWMNI  PORTATUM  A QUATUOR  VEL 
DUOBUS,  VT  SUPRA;  ET  super  Sacramentum  BALDACHINUM  NIGRUM  PORTETUR 
AB  ALIQUIBUS  PERSONIS  MAGIS  DIGNIS.  Ex  LATERE  SINT  DUO  ACOLITI  CUM 
TURRIBULIS,  QUI  CONTINUO  SACRAMENTUM  INCENSABUNT  CIRCUMJ  CIRCA  SINT 
LUMINARIA  ET  INTORTITIA.  POST  FeRETRUM  SEQUITUR  SACERDOS  CUM  PLUUIALI 
ET < FOL.  264v>DyACONUS  ET  SUBDIACONUS;  ET  VLTIMO  SECULARES,  MAIORIBUS 
PRECEDENTIBUS.  PROCESSIONE  ISTO  MODO  ORDINATA  PROCEDUNT  CUM  DEUO- 
TIONE  QUOUSQUE  DICTA  FUERIT  REPLICA  POST  Version  ReSpOHSOril,  QUEM  VCfSUm 
DICENT  DUO  CLERICI,  ET  IDEM  SERUETUR  IN  ALIIS  'ReSpOHSOrllS  SEQUENTIBUS. 
Responsorium: 

Recessit  pastor  noster,  fons  aque  viue  ad  cuius  transitum  sol  obscuratus 
est;  nam  et  ille  captus  est  qui  captiuum  tenebat  primum  hominem.  Hodie 
portas  mortis  et  seras  pariter  saluator  noster  dirupit.  Versus:  Destruxit 
quidem  claustra  inferni  et  subuertit  po<fol.  265r>tentias  dyaboli.  Nam 
et." 

FlNITA  REPLICA  POST  VersUttt,  FIRMETUR  PROCESSIO,  ET  OMNES  FLECTANT 
GENUA,  EXCEPTIS  ILLIS  QUI  PORT  ANT  FeRETRUM  ET  DUOBUS  SACERDOTIBUS  QUI 
CANTAUERUNT  Popule  meUS,  QUI  STANTES  VERSIS  VULTIBUS100  AD  POPULUM 
OMNIBUS  ALIIS  GENUFLEXIS  HA  < BEN  > TIBUS  VULTOS  SUOS  AD  FeRETRUM 

conuersos  cantent  versum:  Quia  eduxi;  et  hoc  quidem  seruetur  in 
omniuus  sequentibus  stationibus.  Versus: 

Quia  eduxi  te  per  desertum  quadraginta  annis  et  manna  cibaui  te,  et 
introduxi  in  terram  satis  optimam,  parasti  crucem  saluatori  tuo. 

Chorus: 

Sanctus  Deus,  vt  supra. 

Quo  dicto,  surgant  omnes  et  incipiatur  r esponsorium:  Ecce  uidimus, 

ET  PROCEDATUR  AD  SECUNDAM  STATIONEM  CANTANDO  RieSpOUSOrium  TOTUM 

usQwe  in  finem  cum  versu  et  replica.  Responsorium: 

Ecce  vidimus  eum  non  habentem  speciem  neque  decorem;  aspectus 
<fol.  265v>  eius  in  eo  non  est;  hie  peccata  nostra  portauit,  et  pro  nobis 
dolens;  ipse  autem  vulneratus  est  propter  iniquitates  nostras,  cuius  liuore 
sanati  sumus.  Versus:  Vere  languores  nostros  ipse  tulit,  et  dolores 
nostros  ipse  portauit.  Cuius. 


99  Fourth  responsory  in  Matins  of  Holy  Saturday.  See  Migne,  Pat.  Lat., 
LXXVIII,  768. 

100  vultibus]  vulbentibus  (Print). 


58 


UNIVERSITY  OF  WISCONSIN  STUDIES 


Omnibus  genuflexis  duo  Sacerdotes  stantes  vt  prius101  dicant  versum  : 
Quid  vltra  debui  facere  tibi,  et  non  feci?  Ego  quidem  plantaui  te 
vineam  meamspe<fol.  266r>ciosissimam;  et  tu  facta  es  mihi  nimis  amara; 
aceto  namque  sitim  meam  potasti,  et  lancea  perforasti  iatus  saluatori  tuo. 

Chorus  : 

Sanctus  Deus,  totum  dicitur  vt  supra. 

Surgentibus  omnibus  incipiatur  r esponsorium:  Hierusalem,  et  proceda- 

TUR  AD  TERTIAM  STATIONEM  VT  SUPRA. 

R esponsorium: 

Hierusalem  luge  et  exue  te  vestibus  iocunditatis  induere  cinere  et  cilicio; 
quia  in  te  occisus  saluator  Israel.  Versus:  Deduc  quasi  torrentem 
lachrymas  per  diem,  et  no<fol.  266v>cte  non  taceat  pupilla  oculi  tui. 
Quia  in.102 

Omnibus  ut  prius  genuflexis,  duo  Sacerdotes  stantes  dicant  versum: 
Ego  propter  te  flagella vi  Egyptum  cum  omnibus  primogenitis  suis; 
et  tu  me  flagellatum  ad  crucifigenaum  cum  latronibus  tradidisti. 

Chorus: 

Sanctus  Deus,  vt  supra. 

Quo  dicto  omnes  surgant  et  incipiatur  r esponsorium;  Calligauerunt,  et 

PROCEDAT  PROCESSIO  AD  QUART  AM  STATIONEM  QUE  FIAT  CIRCA  INGRESSUM 
ECCLESIE  REDEUNDO  ANTE  SEPULCHRUM.  ReSPONSORIUM  : 

Calligauerunt  oculi  mei  a fletu  meo,  quia  elongatus  est  a<foi.  267r> 
me  qui  consolabatur  me.  Videte,  omnes  populi,  si  est  dolor  similis  sicut 
dolor  meus.  Versus : O vos  omnes  qui  transitis  per  viam,  attendite  et 

videte.  Si  est.103 

OMNIBUS  VT  PRIUS  GENUFLEXIS  DUO  SACERDOTES  PREDICTI  STANTES  CANTENT 

versum  vt  supra: 

Ego  dedi  tibi  sceptrum  regale,  et  tu  meo  capiti  coronam  spineam;  ego 
te  exaltaui  magna  virtute,  et  tu  me  suspendisti  in  patibulo  crucis. 

Finito  versu  chorus  cantet: 

Sanctus,  totum  vt  supra:  Sanctus  Deus. 

Dicto  Miserere  nobis,  Sacerdos  cum  reuerentia  accipiat  Corpus  Dowmni 

DE  FeRETRO  ET  ILLUD  IN  MANIBUS  ELEUATUM  TENEAT  CONUERSUS  AD  POPULUM 
ET  VERSIS  RENIBUS  < FOL.  267  V>  AD  SEPULCHRUM.  TUNC  DUO  CLERICI  GENU- 
flexi  cantent  versum:  Cum  autem  venissent,  m reliquos  infra  notatos: 
Versus:  Cum  autem  venissent  ad  locum  ubi  crucifigendus  erat  filius 
meus,  statuerunt  eum  in  medio  omnis  populi,  et  vestibus  expoliatis,  nudum 
dimiserunt  corpus  sanctissimum. 

Versus:  O dulcissime  filie  Syon,  o dulcissime,  videte  dolorem  meum. 
Inspicite  nudum  in  medio  omnis  populi  filium  meum  dulcissimum;  vulnera- 
tus  est  in  medio  eorum. 


101  prius]  primus  (Print). 

102  Second  responsory  in  Matins  of  Holy  Saturday.  See  Migne,  Pat.  Lai., 
LXXVIII,  768. 

103  Responsory  in  Matins  of  Good  Friday.  See  Migne,  Pat.  Lat.,  LXXVIII, 


767. 


YOUNG — THE  EASTER  SEPULCHRE 


59 


1 Versus:  Cum  vero  venissent  ad  locum  ubi  sepeliendus  erat  filius 

meus,  statuerunt  eum  in  medio  mulierum;  et  syndone  inuoluentes  sepultura 
dimiserunt  corpus  sanctissimum. 

2 Versus:  O vos  omnes  qui  transitis  per  viam,  venite  et  videte  si  est 
dolor  sicut  meus;  desolata  sum  nimis;  non  est  qui  consoletur  me;  salus  mea 
infirmata  est;  vita  occiditur  et  a me  tollitur. 

3 Verms:  O nimis  triste  spectaculum,  o crudele  supplitium  impensum 
filio,  o<fol.  368r>felix  rex  tarn  indecenti  morte  coronatus,  pontifices  ini- 
quitatis  tantum  ne  in  vestrum  exardescitis  Deum? 

4 Versus:  Attendite  vos.  o populi  et  uniuerse  plebes,  dolorem  maxi- 

mum: morte  turpissima  mactauerunt  filium  meum.  Vos  optime  sorores, 
flete  vna  mecum;  de  filio  conqueramur. 

5 Versus:  Cum  vero  deposuissent  corpus  Iesu  de  cruce,  statuerunt  illud 
in  gremio  matris  sue,  in  medio  mulierum  amarissime  flentium,  mestissima 
matre  filium  nimis  deplorante.  <fol.  268v> 

CANTATIS  PREDICTIS  VcrSIBUS  VEL  EORUM  PARTE,  SACERDOS  ELEUATIS  MANI- 
BUS  CUM  CORPORE  ClIRISTI  IN  MODUM  CRUCIS  BENEDICAT  POPULUM  ET  CUM 
REUERENTIA  ILLUD  PONAT  IN  SePULCIIRO,  ET  IPSUM  CLAUDAT  ET  SIGILLO  SUO 
signet.  R esponsorium: 

Sepulto  Domino  signatum  est  monumentum,  voluentes  lapidem  ad 
hostium  monumenti,  ponentes  milites  qui  custodirent  ilium.  < Versus > : 
Ne  forte  veniant  discipuli  eius  et  furentur  eum  et  dicant  plebi:  Surrexit  a 
mortuis. 

Finito  'Responsono  predicto,  duo  Clerici  dicant  versum: 

In  pace  factus  est  locus  eius. 

R esponsio: 

Et  in  Syon  habitatio  eius. 

Et  Sacerdos,  sine  Dominus  vobiscum  vel  Oremus,  dicat  absolute  ora- 

TIONEM : 

Respice,  quesumus,  Domine , super  hanc  familiam  tuam  pro  qua  Dominus 
noster  lesus  Christus  non  dubitauit  manibus  tradi  nocentium,  et  crucis 
subire  tormentum. 

Et  non  dicat  Qui  tecum,  nec  responds atur  Amen.  Et  sic  terminetui^ 

PROCESSIO. 

Si  PROCESSIO  DEBET  FIERI  PROLIXIOR  ET  IN  EA  PLURES  MANSIONES  SEU  STA- 

tiones  fieri  oporteat,  finito  r esponsorio  Caligauerunt  cum  versu  et  aliis 

QUE  SEQUUNTUR,  REPETATUR  ALIQUOD  ReSpOHSOrium  DE  PREDICTIS  CUM  SUO 
v^rsu  et  aliis  que  sequuntur,  ita  quod  r esponsorium,  Sepulto,  VLTIMO  LOCO 
RESERUETUR  QUANDO  CORPUS  DOMINI  PONITUR  IN  SEPULCHRO.  < FOL.  269r> 

Supra  posita  processio  more  Veneto  fit  infrascripto  ordine.  Paratis 

OMNIBUS  VT  SUPRA  IN  PRECEDENTI  PROCESSIONE,  NOTATUM  EST  LOCO  R esponsorii, 

Flange,  incipitur  a duobus  Clericis  genuflexis  bxtiphonk,  Venite  et  plore- 

mus,  IN  CANTU  VT  INFERIUS  NOTATUM  EST.  POSTMODUM  TOTUS  CHORUS  SURGENS 

dicat  versum , Popule,  vt  supra.  Quo  finito  illi  duo  Clerici  qui  cantaue- 
runt  Venite  et  plo<remus>,  cant  ant  versum  Quia  edu<xi>,  et  chorus 
repetit  versum  Popule.  Item  duo  clerici  dicant  versum  Ego  propter  te 
fla<gellani>,  et  chorus  repetit  versum  Popule.  Et  sic  alternatim 
dicantur  Improperia  pro  vt  supra  signatum  est  in  Adorations  Crucis, 


60 


UNIVERSITY  OF  WISCONSIN  STUDIES 


FO.  258.  Vel  ipsa  Improperia  cantantur  in  sexto  tono  psalmorum. 
Et  cum  in  dicta  processione  fieri  debet  aliqua  statio  seu  mansio,  omnes 

GENUFLECTANT  ET  ILLI  DUO  CANTENT  AN tiphoYl am  Venite  et,  VT  SUPRA.  QUA 
DICTA  SURGANT  OMNES  ET  SEQUANTUR  PROCESSIONEM  CANTANDO  VCTSUm  Popule, 

et  Improperia,  vt  supra.  Cum  autem  peruenerint  ad  Sepulchrum 

FACIANT  OMNIA  VT  SUPRA  IN  PRECEDENTI  PROCESSIONE.  < fol.  269v> 

Venite  et  ploremus  ante  Dominum,  qui  passus  est  pro  nobis  dicens.104 

According  to  this  ordo  the  Depositio  is  performed  either 
after  the  Missa  Press  anctijicatorum  or  later,  after  dinner.  The 
procession  is  made  especially  impressive  through  the  use  of  a 
bier  ( feretrum ) and  a canopy  ( baldachinum ).  The  ceremonial 
begins  with  the  priest’s  taking  the  Host  reverently  from  the 
altar  at  the  singing  of  the  responsory  Flange  quasi  virgo.  At  the 
conclusion  of  the  responsory  two  priests  begin  the  Improperia 
{Popule  mens),™  to  which  the  choir  responds  {Sancius  Deus). 
The  priest  places  the  Host  on  the  bier,  over  which  a canopy  is 
held,  and  beside  which  are  carried  thuribles  and  lights.  The 
procession  to  the  sepulchrum  is  made  in  four  stages,  each  stage 
having  its  processional  responsory.  At  each  station  the  two 
priests  already  mentioned  sing  a verse  of  the  Improperia , to 
which  the  choir  makes  a response.  The  fourth  station  occurs 
before  the  sepulchrum , where,  after  a final  verse  of  the  Impro- 
perly followed  by  the  Miserere , the  priest  takes  the  Host  from 
the  bier  and  holds  it  aloft  before  the  congregation  while  two 
clerics  kneeling  sing  a series  of  versus . The  priest  now  blesses 
the  congregation  with  the  Host  and  reverently  places  it  in  the 
sepulchrum.  During  the  singing  of  the  responsory  Sepulto 
Domino  he  closes  the  sepulchrum  and  seals  it.  The  office  closes 
with  a versicle,  a response,  and  a prayer. 

More  significant  than  the  splendor  of  this  procession  is  the 
use  of  the  hnproperia , borrowed  directly  from  the  traditional 
Adoratio  Crucis  of  the  Missa  Prcesanctificatorum.  The  presence 
of  this  liturgical  element  is  definitive  proof  of  the  influence  of 
the  Adoratio  upon  the  Depositio™  Particularly  noteworthy 
also  is  the  use  of  the  feretrum  for  bearing  the  Corpus  Christi  to 

104  The  last  word  is  written  twice,  with  varying  musical  notation.  It  will 
be  observed  that  this  antiphon  ( Uenite  et  . . . dicens)  is  referred  to  above,  on 
fol.  269r  of  the  print.  The  last  word  dicens  is  followed  immediately  by  a rubric 
beginning:  Sabbato  Sancto. 

105  See  above,  pp.  20-29. 

106  See  above,  pp.  20-29. 


YOUNG — THE  EASTER  SEPULCHRE 


61 


the  sepulchrum.  It  will  be  observed,  however,  that  with  all 
its  careful  construction  and  elaboration,  this  dramatic  office 
contains  no  impersonation,  and  hence  stops  short  of  true  drama. 

No  less  striking  in  its  content  is  the  combined  Elevatio 
and  Visitatio  from  the  same  compilation  of  Castellani: 

< ELEVATIO  HOSTLE  ET  VISITATIO  SEPULCHRI>107 
De  Processione  in  Nocte  Pasche  ante  Matuti<num> 

AD  SePULCHRUW  ChRm/I. 

Die  sawcxo  Resurrectionis  cum  fuerit  pulsatum  ad  Matuti<num>, 

ANTEQ uam  POPULUS  INTRET  ECCLESIAM,  SACERDOS  CUM  CRUCE  ET  THURIBULO 
APPARATUS  SUPERPELLICEO , STOLLA,  ET  PLUUIALI,  PRECEDENTIBUS  CEREIS 
ACCENSIS  ET  SEQUENTE  TOTO  CLERO  CUM  REUERENTIA,  APERTO  SEPULCHRO 

accipiat  Corpus  Domini  et  portet  illud  in  loco  sacrarii  ubi  sacrosanctum 
Sacramentum  seruari  consueuit.  Et  interim  chorus  cantet  sequentes 
vsalmos  vel  aliquem  eorum: 

Ps almus:  Domine,  quid  multiplicati  sunt  qui  tribulant  me et 

super  populum  tuum  benedictio  tua.  Gloria  patri  et  filio  et  spiritui 
sancto.108 

Psalmus:  Domine,  probasti  me  et  cognouisti  me.  Supra  fo.  160. 

Ps  almus:  Miserere  mei,  Deus,  miserere  mei,  quoniam  in  te  confidit 
anima  mea.  .<fol.  275v>.  . et  super  omnem  terram  gloria  tua.  Gloria 
patri  et  filio  et  spiritui  sancto.109 

FlNITIS  PSALMIS,  SACERDOS,  PRECEDENTIBUS  CEREIS  ET  THURRIBULO,  CORPUS 

Domini  portet  ad  sanctuarium  suum,  sequente  Clero  et  cant  ante 
r esponsorium  Surrexit  pastor;  Sepulchrum  patenter  dimitt atur  apertum. 
Responsoriuu: 

Surrexit  pastor  bonus  qui  animam  suam  postuit  pro  ouibus  suis,  et  pro 
suo  grege  mori  dignatus  est,  alleluia,  alleluia,  alleluis.  Versus:  Surrexit 
Dominus  de  sepulchro,  qui  pro  nobis  pependit  in  ligno.<fol.  276r>  Et 
pro  suo  grege.110 

Tunc  Sacerdos  faciens  officium  stans  cum  Sacerdotibus  in  choro  dicit 
versum: 

Surrexit  Dominus  vere,  alleluia. 

Responsio: 

Et  apparuit  Simoni,  alleluia. 

Oremus. 


107  Liber  Sacerdotalis,  1523,  fol.  275r-278v. 

108  Ps.  iii.  I omit  the  body  of  the  psalm,  giving  only  the  beginning  and 
ending. 

109  Ps.  lvi.  I omit  the  body  of  this  psalm. 

110  Responsory  for  Matins  of  Thursday  in  Easter  Week.  See  Migne,  Pat. 
Lai.,  LXXVIII,  773. 


62 


UNIVERSITY  OF  WISCONSIN  STUDIES 


Oratio: 

Omnipotens  semipiterne  Deus,  qui  hac  sacratissima  nocte  cum  potentia 
tue  maiestatis  resurgens  portas  inferni  confregisti,  et  omnibus  ibi  detentis 
dexteram  tue  misericordie  porrexisti,  scilicet  miserando  diucius  penis 
estuantis  Gehenne  cruciatis  quos  dudum  ad  ymaginem  tuam  creasti, 
quesumus  nos  indigni  et  vltima  pars  creature  tue  vt  per  gratiam  tue  misera- 
tionis  ac  per  sancte  resurrectionis  tue  amorem  necnon  opinium  sanctarum 
animarum  quas  hac  sacratissma  nocte  de  penis  inferni  ad  celestia  regna 
perduxisti,  simulqne  per  omne  mysterium  quod  in  resurrectione  tua  cele- 
brasti,  nobis  indignis  ac  fragilibus  omnium  peccatorum  nostrorum  indul- 
gentiam  largiri  digneris  atq ue  ira m et  furorem  et  indignationem  tue  vin- 
dicte  a nobis  repellas,  et  auxilium,  consolationem,  ac  protectionem  in 
omnibus  peccatis,  periculis,  ac  infirmitatibus  animarum  et  corporum  nobis 
concedas;  et  sicut  corpus  tue  humanitatis,  quod  ad  tempus  pro  nostra 
salute  exuisti  post  triduum  tue  maiestatis  potentia  resuscitasti,  ita  corpora 
et  corda  nostra  ab  omnibus  vicijs  emundari  et  animas  nostras  in  futura 
resurrectione  bentorum  spirituum  cetibus  facias  aggregari.  Qui  cum 
patre  et  cetera. 

In  memoriam  et  laudem  gloriose  resurrectionis  tue  hymnum  dicat  tibi 
omnis  creatura  tua,  Domine;  et  nos  quawuis  peccatores  et  dilinquentes 
hymnum  dicimus  et  gratias  agimus,  venerandamqne  crucem  tuam  adora- 
mus  sanctamqne  resurrectionem  tuam  laudamus  et  glcrificamus,  quoniam 
per  te  redempti  sumus;  ideoqzie  crucifixum  Dominum  laudamus,  et  sepul- 
tum  propter  nos  magnificamus,  resurgentemqne  a mortuis  adoramus  et 
petimus  vt  per  te  et  sanctam  resurrectionem  tuam  nos  a morte  animarum 
nostrarum  resuscitare  digneris.  Qui  cum  patre. 

Oratio: 

Domine  Iesu  Christe,  propter  hoc  gaudium  quod  tu  cum  sanctissima 
anima  tua  et  corpore  in  tua  sancta  resurrectione <fol.  276v>  voluisti  habere 
cum  omnibus  fidelibus  tuis  iustis  et  peccatoribus  viuentibus  et  mortuis 
miserere  nobis,  sicut  vis  et  scis  necessitates  animarum  et  corporum;  et  da 
nobis  spacium  penitentie,  et  veram  compunctionem,  emendationem, 
omnium  peccatorum  nostrorum;  et  presta  nobis,  Iesu  Christe,  vt  precium 
corporis  et  sanguinis  tui  cum  quo  nos  in  sancta  cruce  redemisti,  percipiamus 
ad  salutem  animarum  nostrarum  in  nouissima  hora,  et  quod  spiritalem 
unctionem  spiritalis  olei  et  salutaris  cum  omni  affectu  cordium  et  corporum 
percipiamus.  Qui  cum  patre  et  spiritu  sancto  viuis  ac  regnas  in  vnitate, 
et  cetera. 

Orationibus  finitis  Sacerdos  Corpus  Domini  reuerenter  thurificet. 

Dum  predicte  orationes  dicuntur  duo  Diaconi  parentur  cum 

DALMATICIS  ALBIS  ET  IN  ECCLESIA  REMANEANT.  SACERDOS  AUTEM  PARATUS  VT 
SUPRA  CUM  TOTO  CLERO  EXEAT  PER  PORTAM  ECCLESIE  MINOREM,  MAIORI  PORTA 
CLAUSA  RELICT  A,  ET  VENIANT  AD  PORTAM  MAIOREM  ECCLESIE  CANTANDO  R eSpOH- 

sorium:  Dum  transisset  sabbatum;  et  cum  illuc  peruenerint,  Sacerdos 
ACCEDIT  AD  PORTAM  CLAUS  AM;  CLERUS  CIRCUMSTAT  EUM.  ReSPONSORIUM: 

Dum  transisset  sabbatum  Maria  Magdalene,  Maria  lacobi,  et  Salome 
emerunt  aromata,  ut  venientes  vngerent  Iesum,  alleluia,  aKfol.  277r> 


YOUNG — THE  EASTER  SEPULCHRE 


63 


leluia.  Versus:  Et  valde  mane  una  sabbatorum  veniunt  ad  monumen- 
tum,  orto  iam  sole.  Ut  venientes.  Gloria  patri  et  filio  et  spiritui  sancto, 
alle<luia>. 

Et  dum  peruenerint  ad  fores  ecclesie,  completo  r esponsorio  cum  versu 

ET  REPLICA,  PLEBANUS  VEL  SACERDOS  PARATUS  PULSAT  AD  OSTIUM  MANU  VEL 
CUM  CRUCE  DICENS  SONORA  VOCE  IN  TONO  LECTIONIS: 

Attollite  portas  principes  vestras,  et  elleuamini  porte  eternales,  et  introi- 
bit  rex  glorie. 

Et  pro  ISTA  prima  PULSATIONE  ILLI  DEINTUS  NIHIL  RESPONDENT.  Et  FACTO 
MODICO  INTERUALLO,  SACERDOS  ITERUM  VEHEMENTIUS  PULSAT  AD  OSTIUM 
DICENS  VOCE  ALTIORI  IN  TONO  LECTIONIS: 

Attollite  portas  prin<cipes>,  et  cetera. 

Et  ILLI  DEINTUS  NIHIL  RESPONDENT.  Et  TUNC  SACERDOS,  MODICO  INTERUALLO 
FACTO,  ITERUM  IN  EODEM  TONO  SED  ALTIUS  QUAM  SECUNDO  PULSANS  FORTITER 
OSTIUM  ECCLESIE  DICIT: 

Attollite  portas  priweipes,  et  cetera. 

Tunc  illi  Dyaconi  deintus  statim  cantando  respondent: 

Quem  queritis  in  sepulchro,  Christicole? 

Et  illi  de  foris  respondent: 

Iesum  Nazarenum<fol.  277v>crucifixum,  o Celicole. 

Et  iterum  illi  deintus  respondeant: 

Non  est  hie,  surrexit  sicut  predixerat;  ite,  nuntiate  quia  surrexit  a 
mortuis. 

Hoc  FINITO,  QUI  DEINTUS  SUNT  APERIANT  PORT  AM  ECCLESIAE,  ET  OMNES  IN- 
GREDIANTUR.  Et  ITERUM  DICANT  QUI  DEINTUS  ERANT: 

Venite  et  videte  locum  vbi  positus  erat  Dominus,  alleluia,  alleluia. 

Et  CUM  FUERINT  PORTAM  INGRESSI,  FIRMENT  SE  OMNES  ET  DIUIDANT  PER 

choros.  Tunc  Plebanus  vadat  ad  Sepulchrum  et  ponat  caput  in  fenes- 
tra Sepulchri;  et  postea  conuersus  ad  populum  dicat  voce  mediocri: 
Surrexit  Christus. 

Chorus  respondeat  : 

Deo  gratias. 

Quo  dicto,  Plebanus  procedat  aliquantulum  versus  populum,  et  exaltet 

VOCEM  ALTIUS  QUAM  PRIMUM  ET  DICAT: 

Surrexit  Christus. 

Chorus  respondeat: 

Deo  gratias. 

Iterum  tertio  Plebanus  procedat  versus  populum  aliquantulum,  et 

EXALTATA  VOCE  ADHUC  ALTIUS  QUAM  SeCltHDO  FECERAT  ET  DICAT:  <FOL.  278r> 
Surrexit  Christus. 

Chorus  respondeat  : 

Deo  gratias. 

Quo  FACTO  OMNES  PROCEDANT  AD  SEPULCHRUM  ET  FACIANT  CHOROS  HINC  ET 

inde.  Tunc  Plebanus  vadit  ad  ostium  Sepulchri  et  statim  retrocedat 

VERSUS  CHORUM  ET  DET  PACEM  PRIMO  SACERDOTI  SEU  CLERICO  VEL  DOMINO 
TERRE,  SI  IBI  FUERIT,  ET  DICAT  VOCE  SUBMISSA: 

Surrexit  Dominus. 


64 


UNIVERSITY  OF  WISCONSIN  STUDIES 


Et  ille  respondeat: 

Deo  gratias. 

Deinde  omnes  sibi  mutuo  dent  pacem  dicentes: 

Surrexit  Dominus. 

Et  ille  cm  pax  datur  respondeat: 

Deo  gratias. 

POSTMODUM  V AD  ANT  OMNES  AD  ALTARE  BEATE  VlRGINIS  PROCESSIONALITER,  ET 

coram  altari  genuflexi  Sacerdote  incipiente  an tiphonam  Regina  celi,  EAM 
TOTAM  CANTENT  PRO  GAUDIO  RESURRECTIONIS  FlLII  SUI  DOMINI  NOSTRI. 
Antiphon  a: 

Regina  celi  letare,  alleluia, 

Quia  quem  meruisti  portare,  alleluia, 

Resurrexit  sicut  dixit,  alleluia. 

Ora  pro  nobis  Deum,  alleluia.  <fol.  2 7 8V  > 

Versus : 

Ora  pro  nobis,  Sancta  Dei  Genitrix,  alleluia. 

Res  pons  io : 

Ut  digni  efficiamur  promissionibus  Christi,  alleluia. 

Oremus: 

Oratio: 

Deus,  qui  per  unigeniti  filii  tui  Domini  Ntwfri  Iesu  Christi  resurrectionem 
familiam  tuam  letificare  dignatus  es,  presta,  quesumus,  vt  per  eius  venera- 
bilem  genitricem  virginem  Mariam  perpetue  capiamus  gaudia  vite.  Per 
eundem  Christum. 

Oremus: 

Oratio: 

Gratiam  tuam,  quesumus,  Domine,  mentibus  nostris  infunde,  vt  qui 
angelo  nunciante  Christi  filii  tui  incarnationem  cognouimus,  per  passionem 
eius  et  crucem  ad  resurrectionis  gloriam  perducamur.  Per  eundem 
Christum  Dominum. 

His  FINITIS  REUERTANTUR  AD  CHORUM  ET  CANTENT  MATUTINAS. 

This  dramatic  office  occurs  before  Easter  Matins,  and  the 
raising  of  the  Host  is  accomplished  before  the  arrival  of  the 
laymen.111  During  the  singing  of  psalms  by  the  choir,  the  priest 
opens  the  sepulchrum  and  takes  up  the  Corpus  Domini.  Then 
while  the  choir  sings  the  responsory  Surrexit  pastor , the  priest 
carries  the  Host  to  the  sacristy,  where  after  a versicle,  response, 
and  prayer,  it  is  given  its  final  censing. 

The  clergy  now  proceed  to  a ceremony  inspired  by  the  theme 
of  the  Harrowing  of  Hell.  While  two  deacons  remain  within 
the  church,  the  priest  and  other  clerics  pass  in  procession  to  a 
position  outside  the  closed  central  door,  the  processional 

111  One  should  note,  however,  the  presence  of  the  populus  during  the  later 
parts  of  the  office. 


YOUNG — THE  EASTER  SEPULCHRE 


65 


responsory  being  Dum  transisset.  The  priest,  or  a plebanus, 
now  strikes  the  door  with  his  hand,  or  with  a cross,  saying 
Attollite  portas.  This  is  done  three  times.  After  each  of  the 
first  two  strikings  follows  an  interval  of  silence.  To  the  third 
challenge  the  two  deacons  within  the  church  respond  with  the 
interrogation  Quern  quceritis ? Now  follows  the  usual  dialogue 
of  the  Visitatio  Sepulchri,  at  the  conclusion  of  which  the  door 
of  the  church  is  opened.  At  the  invitation  of  the  two  deacons 
(V enite  et  videte)  the  plebanus  peers  through  the  window  of  the 
sepulchrum , and  then  turning  to  the  choir  utters  the  Surrexit 
Christus,  the  choir  responding  Deo  gratias.  After  this  versicle 
and  response  have  been  repeated  twice,  and  after  the  Kiss  of 
Peace  has  been  given,  the  whole  congregation  moves  from  the 
sepulchrum  to  the  altar  of  the  Blessed  Virgin,  where  the  office 
closes  with  an  antiphon,  a versicle  and  response,  and  prayers. 

It  may  fairly  be  said  that  this  version  consists  of  three 
distinct  parts:  (1)  the  Elevatio , (2)  a representation  of  the  Des- 
census ad  inferos , and  (3)  a Visitatio  Sepulchri.  These  parts,  how- 
ever, do  not  occupy  positions  equally  independent.  Whereas 
the  Elevatio  may  be  said  to  stand  by  itself,  the  other  two  divi- 
sions are  amalgamated  in  a somewhat  conspicuous  manner, 
and  this  amalgamation  cannot  be  considered  completely  suc- 
cessful. Although  the  action  of  this  part  of  the  office  is  smooth, 
the  incongruity  of  the  themes  is  not  surmounted.  The  Quern 
quceritis  dialogue,  implying  the  visit  of  the  Maries  to  the  empty 
tomb,  is  inappropriately  used  in  a representation  of  the  yielding 
of  the  gates  of  Hell. 

Although  in  describing  this  ceremony  I have  used  the  word 
“representation,”  it  should  be  observed  that  since  the  text 
presents  no  evidence  of  impersonation,  we  are  dealing,  once 
more,  not  with  a true  play,  but  with  a dramatic  office. 

Finally  one  other  detail  in  the  version  before  us  calls  for 
comment:  the  Pax , or  Kiss  of  Peace.  It  may  be  that  this  part 
of  the  ceremonial  shows  the  influence  of  a certain  practice  pre- 
scribed as  a prelude  to  Easter  Matins  by  some  of  the  oldest  of 
the  Ordines  Romani.  Thus  in  the  Ordo  of  St.  Amand,  repre- 
senting the  liturgy  of  about  the  year  800,  we  read  the  follow- 
ing :112 


112  Duchesne,  p.  471,  from  a manuscript  of  the  ninth  century. 


66 


UNIVERSITY  OF  WISCONSIN  STUDIES 


In  ipsa  nocte  sancta  Resurrectionis,  post  gallorum  cantu  surgendum 
est.  Et  dum  venerint  ad  ecclesiam  et  oraverint,  osculant  se  invicem  cum 
silentio.  Deinde  dicit  Deas  in  adjutorium  meum.113 

In  this  case  the  celebration  is  very  simple,  consisting  merely 
in  the  saying  of  prayers  and  in  the  Kiss  of  Peace.  A similar 
observance  is  seen  in  the  following  from  Or  do  Romanus  I: 

In  ipsa  nocte  post  gallorum  cantum,  matutino  irrumpente  luce  tenebras, 
surgentes  in  ecclesia  veniunt,  & mutua  caritate  se  invicem  osculantes  dicunt: 
Dens  in  adjutorium  meum.114 

The  same  tradition  is  found  outside  Rome  in  such  a passage 
as  the  following:115 

In  crastino  suramo  diluculo  ueniunt  studiose  omnes  in  ecclmam  & mutua 
pace  inuicem  se  osculantes  dicunt: 

Surrexi/  Xpistuc. 

R esponsio: 

Gaudeamws  omnes. 

Deinde : 

Domint  labia  mea.116 

It  will  be  observed,  however,  that  none  of  the  observances 
just  cited  is  explicitly  associated  with  the  sepulchrum.  Such 
association  is  seen  in  the  following:117 

Dum  classis  pro  officio  nocturno  pulsatur,  duas  candelse  in  Sepulcro  ponantur, 
& ceroferarii  mittantur  ad  Archiepiscopum,  qui  veniens  indutus  cappa  serica 
alba  ante  Sepulcrum  dicat: 

Confiteor,  &c. 

Deinde  intrans,  facta  oratione,  Sepulcrum  osculatur  & altaria.  Inde  vero 
exiens  Decanum  osculetur.  Postea  intrans  in  chorum,  ceroferariis  praecedenti- 
bus,  & stans  inter  Can  tores  in  medio  choro  dicat: 

Resurrexit  Dominus, 

& cantor  respondeat: 

Et  apparuit  Petro, 


113  With  the  words  Deus  in  adjutorium  meum  Matins  begins. 

114  Mabillon,  II,  28.  More  extensive  Roman  ceremonials  for  early  Easter 
morning,  including  the  Pax,  have  been  introduced  above,  pp.  27-29. 

115  Udine,  Biblioteca  Arcivescovile,  Graduale  Ratisbonense  saec.  xi,  fol. 
lr.  This  manuscript  of  seventy-one  folios  has  no  shelf-mark  in  the  Udine 
library.  For  the  text  now  published  I am  indebted  to  my  friend  Dom  G.  M. 
Beyssac,  of  Quarr  Abbey,  Isle  of  Wight.  To  Dom  Beyssac  I am  deeply  grateful 
for  many  generous  services  in  connection  with  the  present  study. 

116  With  these  words  begins  Easter  Matins. 

117  Martene,  p.  503,  from  an  Ordinarium  Viennense,  of  uncertain  date. 


YOUNG — THE  EASTER  SEPULCHRE 


67 


& dat  ei  osculum  pads;  similiter  & alii  Cantori.  Alii  Clerici  ordinate  idem 
faciunt  ad  Sepulcrum;  & sic  fiat  quando  Archiepiscopus  agit  officium,  & quando 
ejus  vicarius  pro  eo  illud  facit,  hoc  modo  fiat.  Primo  Cantores  induti  cappis 
sericis  albis,  deinde  vicarius  Archiepiscopi  accedentes  ad  Sepulcrum  in  introitu 
portae  genibus  flexis  Cantores  stent,  vicarius  intret  in  Sepulcrum,  & facta  ora- 
tione,  veniat  ad  portam,  & dicat  Cantoribus: 

Resurrexit  Dominus. 

Cantores  respondeant: 

Et  apparuit  Petro. 

Postea  intrent  omnes  in  Sepulcrum  deosculando  altaria.  Deinde  nocturnum 
officium  incipitur. 

It  may  be,  then,  that  the  use  of  the  Pax  in  such  observances 
as  these  is  the  source  of  the  Pax  in  the  Elevatio-Visitatio 
from  the  Liber  Sacerdotalis  of  Castellani,  and  elsewhere.118 

With  the  versions  of  Castellani  we  may  appropriately 
associate  those  in  use  in  the  eighteenth  century  in  the  Church 
of  St.  Mark  at  Venice.119  The  characteristic  elements  seen  in 
the  texts  of  Castellani  persist  at  Venice  two  centuries  later. 
The  Depositio  of  St.  Marks  is  prescribed  as  follows: 

< DEPOSIT  10  HOST LE> 120 

Processio  ad  Sepulchrum 

Post  prandium,  hora  consueta,  immediate  post  Pr^edicationem,  fit 
Sanctissimi  Sepulchri  Christi  Processio  hoc  modo,  videlicet.  In  primis 

PR.EPARENTUR  IN  CANONICA  SEXAGINTA  INTORITIA  ALBA  A SEX  MAGNIS  SCHOLIS, 
DECEM  PRO  QUALIBET  IPSARUM  DISTRIBUENDA.  QUIBUS  ACCENSIS,  DISCEDUNT 
PRIMO  DECEM  EX  SCHOLASTICIS  SCHOL.E  SANCTI  THEODORI,  CUM  PR^EDICTIS 
INTORTITIIS  ACCENSIS,  & VENIENTES  IN  CHORUM  VERSUS  ALT  ARE  MAJUS,  VADUNT 
BINI  & BINI  PER  MEDIAM  CHORI  PORTAM,  QU^E  EST  APUD  SERENISSIMI  PRINCIPIS 

sedem.  Et  sic  devote  succedunt  alii  decem  Schol^e  Sancti  Rocchi. 
Deinde  alii  decem  Schol^e  Misericordle.  Postea  alii  decem  Schol^e 
Sancti  Joannis  Euangelist^e.  Deinde  alii  decem  Schol^e  Charitatis. 
Postmodum  Clerus  Sancti  Marci.  Post  quem  succedunt  duo  cantores  <p. 
278 > chori.  Deinde  quatuor  juvenes  Presbyteri  camisiis  nigris  & 

STOLIS  VIOLACEIS  PECTORI  TRANSVERSATIS  INDUTI,  QUATUOR  CEREOS  PARVOS 


118  See  below,  pp.  88,  89,  97,  109. 

119  Officium  Hebdomadce  Sane  tee  secundum  consuetudinem  Ducalis  Ecclesice 
Sancti  Marci  Venetiarum  . . . , Venice,  1736  (British  Museum),  pp.  277-282, 
345-349.  The  Elevatio  and  Visitatio  from  this  book  have  been  reprinted  by 
Lange,  in  Zeitschrift  fur  deutsches  Alterthum,  XLI,  78-80.  So  far  as  I know, 
the  Depositio  has  not  previously  been  brought  into  relation  with  the  drama. 

120  Officium  Hebdomadce  Sanctce  . . . Sancti  Marci  . . . , Venice,  1736,  pp. 
277-282.  The  present  text  is  preceded  immediately  by  the  rubric:  Et  sic 
Missa  cum  Vesperis  terminetur. 


68 


UNIVERSITY  OF  WISCONSIN  STUDIES 


ACCENSOS  PORT  ANTES.  POSTEA  QUATUOR  CLERICI  DALMATICIS  NIGRIS  INDUTI, 
THURIBULUM  & NAVICELLAS  CUM  INCENSO  DEFERENTES.  DeINDE  QUATUOR 
CANOXICI  CUM  DALMATICIS  VELLUTI  NIGRI,  FeRETRUM  CUM  SANCTISSIMO  CHRISTI 
CORPORE  DEFERENTES.  POSTMODUM  DUO  ALn  JUVENES  PRESBYTERI  CAMISIIS 
NIGRIS  & STOLIS  VIOLACEIS  PECTORI  TRANSVERSATIS  INDUTI,  CEREOS  MAJORES 
ACCENSOS  PORTANTES.  Et  CUM  SaNCTISSIMUM  ChRISTI  CORPUS  EST  SUPER 
SACRARU  PORTAM,  OMNIBUS  FLECTENTIBUS  GENUA,  CANTORES  CANUNT  VerSUVV. 

Venite,  & ploremus  ante  Dominum,  qui  passus  est  pro  nobis,  dicens: 
Quo  DECANTATO  OMNES  SURGUNT,  & CANTORUM  TURBA  AD  OMNES  PAUSAS  RE- 

spondet  versum: 

Popule  meus,  quid  feci  tibi?  aut  in  quo  contristavi  te?  responde  mihi. 
Versus: 

Quia  eduxi  te  per  desertum  quadraginta  annis,  & manna  cibavi  te,  & 
inroduxi  te  in  terrain  optimam. 

Versus: 

Aceto  namque121  sitim  meam  potasti,  & lancea  perforasti  latus  Salvatori 
tuo.<p.  279> 

POSTEA  EXIT  E SACRARIO  REVERENDUS  VlCARIUS,  SEU  QUI  FACIT  OFFICIUM, 
CUM  PLUVIALI  & STOLA  VELLUTI  NIGRI.  HUNC  SEQUUNTUR  ALn  DECEM  SCHO- 

lastici  Schole  Sancti  Marci.  Deinde  Scutiferi  & Secretarii  cereolos, 

QUOS  APUD  PORTAM  CHORI  IN  CAPSELLIS  PR.EPARATOS,  & ACCENSOS  AD  HOC  JN- 
VENERINT,  DEFERENTES.  POSTREMO  SEQUITUR  SERENISSIMUS  PRINCEPS  CUM 

Illustrissimo  Dominio.  Et  cum  pervenerit  subter  porticum  Palatii 
Clerus  ordinate  a quinque  scholarum  pr^edictarum  scholasticis,  partim 

A DEXTRIS  & PARTIM  A SINISTRIS  COMITETUR.  SlT  AUTEM  SUBTER  PALATII 
PORTICUM  UMBELLA  NIGRA  PR.EPARATA  CUM  SEX  SUBCANONICIS  PLUVIALIBUS 
SAMITI  NIGRI  INDUTIS,  & IPSAM  UMBELLAM  DELATURIS.  CUM  PERVENERIT 
IGITUR  SANCTISSIMI  CORPORIS  ChRISTI  FeRETRUM,  IPSUM  SUBTER  UMBELLAM 
MAGNA  CUM  REVERENTIA  RECEPIATUR,  & SIC  AD  SANCTAM  PROCESSIONEM  DEVOTE 
PROCEDATUR,  STANTIBUS  SEMPER  APUD  DUAS  ULTIMAS  HASTAS  UMBELL2E  DUOBUS 
EX  HONORABILIBUS  SCHOLASTICIS  SCHOUE  SANCTI  MARCI.  POST  FeRETRUM 
SEQUITUR  REVERENDUS  VlCARIUS,  DEINDE  SCUTIFERI,  SECRET ARn,  <P.  280  > 

Magnus  Cancellarius,  & Serenissimus  Princeps  cum  Illustrissimo  Do- 
minio. CUMQUE  FIT  PRIMA  PAUSA  AD  PETRAM  BANNI,  OMNES  FLECTANT  GENUA, 
& Cantores  canent  versum: 

Venite,  <&>ploremus, 

UT  SUPRA.  QUO  DECANTATO,  OMNES  SURGUNT.  Et  CANTORUM  TURBA  RESPON- 
DENTS versum: 

Popule  meus, 

UT  SUPRA,  TALIS  ORDO  PER  TOTAM  PROCESSIONEM  SERVARI  DEBEAT.  SeCUNDA 
PAUSA  FIT  PER  MEDIAM  PORTAM  ECCLESLE  SANCTI  MARCI,  OMNIBUS  GENUA 
FLECTENTIBUS  &,  UT  SUPRA,  CANENDO.  TeRTIA  PAUSA  FIT  PER  MEDIAM  PORTAM 

Sancti  Bassi,  similiter  flectendo  genua  & canendo,  ut  supra.  Cum  autem 

OMNES  SCHOLE  IN  TEMPLUM  PERVENERINT,  FACIANT  CHORUM,  PRIMA  APUD  POR- 
TAM MAJOREM  ECCLESLE,  CAETERISQUE  TALITER  SE  DISPONENTIBUS,  UT  ULTIMA 

SIT  APUD  Sanctissimum  Christi  Sepulchrum  collocata.  Restitutisque  ab 


121  namque]  nanque  (Print). 


YOUNG — THE  EASTER  SEPULCHRE 


69 


OMNIBUS  AD  PORTAM  MAJOREM  ECCLESLE  CEREOLIS,  SCUTIFERI  & SECRETARII 
ASCENDUNT  CHORUM  PER  PORTAM  QUJ£  DUCIT  APUD  SERENISSIMI  PRINCIPIS 
SEDEM.  SED  CLERUS  TOTUS  VADIT  CONTRA  SANCTISSIMUM  ChRISTI  SEPULCHRUM. 

Ad  quod  cum  Sanctis  <p.  281>simum  Christi  Corpus  pervenerit, 
Serenissimus  Princeps  cum  Illustrissimo  Dominio  sistit  se.  Reverendus- 

QUE122  VlCARIUS  CUM  TABERNACULO  IN  MANIBUS  STAT  SUPER  SEPULCHRI 
ARAM,  & OMNIBUS  GENUA  DEVOTE  FLECTENTIBUS,  CANTORES  CANUNT  VerSlWl .* 

Cum  autem  venisset  ad  locum  ubi  crucifigendus  erat  filius  meus,  statue- 
runt  eum  in  medio  omnis  populi,  & vestibus  expoliatis,  nudum  dimiserunt 
corpus  sanctissimum. 

Quo  DECANTATO,  DICTUS  REVERENDUS  VlCARIUS  CUM  TABERNACULO,  MORE 
SOLITO  DAT  SUAM  SANCTAM  BENEDICTIONEM.  DeINDE  REVERENTER  DEPOSITO 

Sanctissimo  Christi  Corpore  in  Sepulchro,  Magnus  Cancellarius  re- 
cepto  prius  a Serenissimo  Principe  annulo,  ipsum  defert  dicto  Reveren- 

DO  VlCARIO,  QUI  IPSIUS  SEPULCHRI  OSTIUM  SIGILLAT;  QUO  SIGILLATO  CANTORES 
canunt  version: 

Sepulto  Domino,  signatum  est  monumentum  ad  ostium  monumenti: 
ponentes  milites  qui  custodirent  illud,  ne  forte  veniant  discipuli  & furentur 
eum,  & dicant  plebi:  Surrexit  a mortuis.<p.  282  > 

Deinde  omnes  surgunt,  & Serenissimus  Princeps  cum  Illustrissimo 
Dominio  chorum  ascendit.  Scholastici  quoque  redeunt  in  Canonicam 

AD  EXTINQUENDA  & RESTITUENDA  INTORTITIA.  CLERUS  VERO  REMANET  ANTE 
SEPULCHRUM,  & DICITUR  COMPLETORIUM  LEGENDO,  UT  SUPRA,  CUM  RELIQUIS. 
Et  IN  FINE  ORATIO : 

Respice,  quaesumus,  Domine,  fol.  175. 

Quo  FINITO  OMNES  REDEUNT  IN  CHORUM,  & INCHOATUR  MATUTINUM. 

This  office  is  performed  post  prandium,  immediately  before 
Compline.  The  most  conspicuous  part  of  the  ceremonial  is 
the  elaborate  procession  into  the  church,  and  of  this  procession 
the  most  notable  aspect  is  the  use  of  the  Impropria  at  the 
beginning  and  at  three  subsequent  stations.  Since  the  signifi- 
cance of  this  use  of  the  Impropria  has  already  been  commented 
upon,123  we  need  not  emphasize  it  here.  The  actual  placing  of 
the  Host  in  the  sepulchrum  is  accomplished  very  simply,  and 
the  concluding  Sepulto  Domino  allies  the  present  version  of  the 
Depositio  with  the  normal  type. 

The  other  ceremonials  connected  with  the  sepulchrum  take 
the  following  form : 


122  Reverendusque]  Reverendisque  (Print). 

123  See  above,  p.  69. 


70 


UNIVERSITY  OF  WISCONSIN  STUDIES 


<ELEVATIO  HOSTLE  ET  VIS  IT  AT  10  SEPULCHRI>m 
Dominica  Resurrectionis  Domini. 

SuMMO  MANE,  APERTO  PRIUS  A SACRISTA  SePULCHRO  & SANCTISSIMO  SACRA- 
MENTO IN  SUO  LOCO  DEBITA  REVERENTIA  COLLOCATO,  CLERUS  NOSTER  HORA  COM- 
PETENTI  IN  SACRARIUM  HODIE  CONVENIAT,  AC  UNUSQUISQUE  MAGISTRI  CERE- 
MONIARUM  CURA  SUO  FUNGATUR  OFFICIO.  Et  PALLA  IN  PRIMIS  APERTA,  AC 
THESAURO  SUPER  ALTARE  BENE  DISPOSITO,  QUATUOR  ACOLYTI  ORDINARII  CAMISIS 
MUNDIS  INDUTI,  CEREOS  ARGENTEOS  DEFERENTES,  E SACRARIO  MODERATE  DISCE- 
DUNT.  Cruciferi  AUTEM  DALAMTICIS  ALBIS  DAMASCENIS  NOVIS  SUPRA  LENEAS 
TUNICAS  INDUTI,  IN  MEDIO  EORUM  MAGNAM  CrUCEM  ARGENTEAM  DEFERUNT. 

Hos  sequitur  Clericorum  & Sacerdotum  turba  juniorum.  Postea 

SUBCANONICI  & CANONICI  GRADATIM  SOLEMNIBUS  PLUVIALIBUS  INDUTI.  DeINDE 

Reverendus  Vicarius  vel  Senior  Canonicus  pre<p.  346>tiosioribus 
cum  Ministris  indutus  missalibus  paramentis,  cum  tribus  candelis  accen- 
sis  Sereniss.  Principi,  Procuratori,  & Celebranti  distribuendis.  Pos- 
tremo  sequitur  C^eremoniarum  Magister  una  cum  tribus  Clericis,  quo- 
rum ALTER  DEFERAT  LIBRUM  ORDINARIUM,  ALTER  ORATIONALE  PRO  DECEWDA 
PRIMA  OPPORTUNO  TEMPORE  AD  SePULCHRUM,  TERTIUS  SIT  a NEGOTnS  EJUSDEM 
MAGISTRI.  HujUSMODI  PROCESSIO  EXIT  PER  PORTAM  SaNCH  CLEMENTIS  & 
RECTA  AD  SCALAM  MAJOREM  AD  SINISTRAM  SUB  PORTICU  CONTENDIT.  Qu^ 
FIRMATUR  SUB  PORTICU  SUPERIORI  PALATH,  & FACTO  CHORO  EX  UTRAQUE  PARTE, 
CELEBRANS  UNA  CUM  MlNISTRIS,  COM3TE  C^RENONIARUM  MAGISTRO,  ASCEN- 
DENS  SCALAM  DUCALEM,  OCCURRIT  SERENISS.  PRINCIPI  E SCALA  COLLEGII  DE- 
SCENDENTI,  UBI  PRIUS  FACTA  DEBITA  REVERENTIA,  OFFERT  CANDELAM  ACCENSAM 

SUiE  Serenitati,  aliam  Procuratori  nostr.e  Ecclesle,  qui  hoc  procession- 

IS  ITINERE  PR.ECEDIT,  DE  MORE,  C.ETEROS  ORATORES,  & EST  PROPE  SERENISS. 
PRINCIPEM,  SED  IN  REDITU  LOCUM  PETIT  SUUM.  TeRTIAM  CANDELAM  CELE- 
BRANS  SIBI  RETINET.  QUIBUS  CANDELIS  OBLATIS,  PRyEDICTUS  CLERUS  <P.  347  > 
SUMMA  MODESTIA  DESCENDENS  E SCALA  MAJORE  PALATn,  EXIT  PER  PORTAM 
AUREAM,  NISI  PLUAT;  TUNC  ENIM  EODEM  ORDINE,  QUO  VENIT,  FIERET  INTROITUS 
PER  PORTAM  SANCTI  CLEMENTIS,  & IRETUR  AD  SEPULCHRUM  PER  PARVAM  SCALAM 

Sancti  Jacobi,  prius  amotis  sedibus  ob  pr^edicationem  ibidem  prtEparatis. 
Et  cum  nostra  Crux  ingreditur  plateam,  campan^e  pulsantur.  Licet 
mane  campana  ducalis  adventum  Principis  indicans,  non  pulsetur, 

NEQUE  A CELEBRANTE  DE  DOMINICA  ReSURRECTIONE  SERENISS.  PrINCEPS 
ADMONEATUR.  CUM  PERVENERIT  AUTEM  PROCESSIO  AD  ECCLESIAM,  OMNES 
PROCEDUNT  USQUE  AD  SECUNDAM  JANUAM  MAJOREM  ECCLESLE,  QX1JE  CLAUSA 
EST,  & OMNES  ALL®  CLAUSE  SINT,  PRATER  DU  AS  PARVAS : SCILICET  QU,E  TENDUNT 
IN  CANONICAM  & IN  PaLATIUM  AD  SANCTUM  CLEMENTEM.  Et  FACTO  CHORO 
INTER  DUAS  ILLAS  JANUAS  MAJORES  SUB  PORTICU  ECCLESLE,  QUO  MELIUS  FIERI 
POTEST,  INTRAT  ETIAM  SUA  SERENITAS  EO  SUB  PORTICU  CUM  PROCURATORE  & 

Oratoribus.  Canonicus  Celebrans  accedit  ad  januam  clausam  & pulsat 

TER  CUM  ANNULO  ^ENEO  PENDENTE  EX  IPSA,  TRIBUS  ICTIBUS  PRO  QUALI<P.  348  > 


mOfficium  Hebdomada  Sanctce  . . . Sancti  Marci  ...»  Venice,  1736, 
pp.  345-349. 


YOUNG — THE  EASTER  SEPULCHRE 


71 


bet  vice,  ita  ut  sint  novem  ictus.  Et  Cantores  interius  cantant  versum: 
Quem  quaeritis  in  sepulchro,  Christicohe? 

Et  illi  de  foris  extrinsecus  cantantes  respondeant: 

Jesum  Nazarenum  crucifixum,  o Coelicolae. 

Et  illi  deintus  dicant  : 

Non  est  hie,  surrexit  sicut  praedixerat;  ite,  nuntiate  quia  surrexit,  dicen- 
tes. 

Quo  FACTO  ITERUM  DICANT  QUI  DEINTUS  SUNT: 

Venite  & videte  locum  ubi  positus  erat  Dominus,  alleluja,  alleluja. 

Cum  autem  dicunt:  Venite  & videte,  panduntur  fores  ecclesle,  & omnibus 

IN  EAM  INGREDIENTIBUS  PROCEDIT  CLERUS  ORDINATE  CONTRA  SEPULCHRUM. 
Ad  quod  cum  Sereniss.  Princeps  PERVENERIT,  FIRMAT  se,  facie  ad  Sepul- 
chrum  versa.  Tunc  Celebrans  ascendit  ad  Sepulchrum,  & immisso 
capite,  utrinque  erigens  se,  versa  facie  ad  Sereniss.  Principem  in 
porta  Sepulchri  cant  at  versum: 

Surrexit  Christus. 

Et  chorus  respondeat  : 

Deo  gratias. 

Deinde  in  medio  spatio  chori  idem  decantat,  aliquantulum  extollens 

VOCEM,  & CHORUS  EO  MODO,  QUO  SUPRA,  RESPONDEAT.  TeRTIO  CANIT  APUD 

Serenissimum  Principem  in  debita  dist antia,  semper  exaltando  < p.  349  > 
vocem: 

Surrexit  Christus. 

R esponsio: 

Deo  gratias. 

Et  facta  eadem  per  chorum  responsione,  accedens  ad  Sereniss.  Princi- 
pem, deosculatur  eum  & Procuratorem  dicens: 

Surrexit  Christus. 

Et  illi  respondeant: 

Deo  gratias. 

Deinde  Sacerdos  deosculatur  Diaconum  & Subdiaconum,  idem  dicens; 

ILLI  VERO  DANT  OSCULUM  SIBI  PROPINQUIORIBUS ; ET  SIC  SUCCESSIVE  USQUE  AD 
MINIMOS  CLERICOS  QUI  ADSUNT,  DICENTES  ET  RESPONDENTES,  UT  SUPRA.  POSTEA 

Sereniss.  Princeps  cum  Senatu  ascendit  chorum.  Clerus  vero  remanet 
ad  Sepulchrum,  prater  Cantores  qui  suum  ascendunt  pulpitum  ad 
canendam  Missam,  dicens  Primam  legendo.125 

The  observances  outlined  in  this  text  occur  on  Easter 
morning  immediately  before  Prime.  The  Elevatio  proper  is 
performed  privately:  that  is,  at  an  early  hour  a sacristan  opens 
the  sepulchre  and  removes  the  Host  to  an  appropriate  place. 
The  simplicity  of  this  observance  is  quite  submerged  in  the 
ceremonial  brilliance  of  the  subsequent  Visitatio.  Since  the 
Visitatio , however,  is  not  our  present  concern,  we  need  observe 


125  Followed  immediately  by  the  rubric:  Ad  Primam. 


72 


UNIVERSITY  OF  WISCONSIN  STUDIES 


only  that  in  general  sequence  and  in  the  inclusion  of  the  Pax 
the  present  version  is  similar  to  that  of  Castellani. 

In  view  of  the  analyses  already  made  of  the  actual  texts  of 
the  Depositio  and  Elevatio , one  need  offer  for  the  present  division 
of  this  study  only  a very  brief  summary.  The  texts  range  in 
date  from  the  eleventh  century126  to  the  eighteenth,  they  are 
distributed  over  Germany,  France,  Switzerland,  Italy,  and 
Hungary,  and  they  show  every  possible  degree  of  ceremonial 
elaboration.  Particularly  notable  is  the  liturgical  nature  of 
their  content.  Although  the  Depositio  and  Elevatio  are  extra- 
liturgical  in  the  sense  of  being  deliberate  additions  to  the 
authorized  liturgical  system,  the  actual  utterances  provided  for 
these  offices  are  well-known  antiphons  and  responsories  from 
the  official  liturgy  itself.  Most  noteworthy  of  all,  however,  is 
the  absence  of  dialogue  and  impersonation.  An  approach  to 
dialogue,  to  be  sure,  is  seen  in  connection  with  the  theme  of  the 
Descensus ; but  in  the  Depositio  and  Elevatio  proper,  dialogue 
does  not  occur.  None  of  the  texts  thus  far  examined  shows 
unequivocal  evidence  that  the  clerics  who  serve  in  the  dramatic 
offices  undertake  to  impersonate  characters  connected  with  the 
events  commemorated.  In  other  words,  none  of  the  versions 
reviewed  thus  far  can  be  considered  true  drama. 


IV 

We  pass  now  to  those  versions  of  the  Depositio  and  Elevatio 
in  which  the  center  of  the  ceremonial  is  not  the  Host  but  the 
Cross. 

Since,  as  we  have  already  observed,* 1  the  Depositio  forms  a 
natural  sequel  for  the  Adoratio  Crucis,  we  may  expect  to  find 
that  a certain  number  of  versions  of  the  Depositio  Crucis  attach 
themselves  to  the  Adoratio  so  directly  as  to  form  with  the 
Adoratio  a consecutive  ceremonial.  This  is  true  of  the  earliest 
extant  version  of  the  Depositio , that  preserved  in  the  Concordia 

126 1 refer  to  the  Elevatio  from  St.  Gall  (above,  p.  30).  It  should  be  remem- 
bered, however,  that  a Depositio  of  the  type  under  consideration,  and  probably 
an  Elevatio,  are  referred  to  in  the  tenth -century  life  of  St.  Udalricus  (See  above, 
p.  17). 

1 See  above,  p.  26. 


YOUNG — THE  EASTER  SEPULCHRE 


73 


Regularis  of  St.  Athelwold.  The  Adoratio  Crucis  from  this 
document,  printed  in  full  above,2 3  is  followed  immediately  by 
this  version  of  the  Deposition 

<DEPOSITIO  CRUCIS >4 

Nam  quia  ea  die  depositionem  Corporis  Saluatoris  Nostei  celebramus, 

USUM  QUORUNDAM  RELIGIOSORUM  IMITABILEM  AD  FIDEW  INDOCTI  UULGI  AC 
NEOFITORUW  CORROBORANDAM  EQUIPARANDO  SEQUI,  SI  ITA  CUI  UISUM  FUERIT 
U£L  SIBI  TAUTER  PLACUERIT  HOC  MODO  DECREUIMUS.  SlT  AUTEM  IN  UNA  PARTE 
ALTARIS,  QUA  UACUUM  FUERIT,  QUEDAM  ASSIMILATIO  SEPULCHRI,  UELAMENQW0 
QUODDAM  IN  GYRO  TENSUM  QUOD  DUM  S<mC/A  CRUX  ADORATA  FUERIT  DEPONATUR 
HOC  ORDINE.  VENIANT  DlACONI  QUI  PRIUS  PORTAUERUNT  EAM,  et  INUOLUANT 
EAM  SINDONE  IN  LOCO  UBI  ADORATA  EST.  TUNC  REPORTENT  EAM  CANENTES 
ANTIPHONAS: 

In  pace  in  idipsum.  Habitabit, 

Item: 

Caro  mea  requiesc et  in  spe, 

DONEC  UENIANT  AD  LOCUM  MONUMENTI,5  DEPOSITAQZ^  CRUCE,  AC  SI  Domim 

NostRi  lHe.su  Xpm/i  Corpore  sepulto,  dicant  ANTiPHowam: 

Sepulto  Domino,  signatum  est  monumentuw,  ponentes  milites  qui 
custodirent  eum. 

In  eodem  loco  Sanctx  Crux  cum  ommi  reuerentia  custodiatw  usQwe 
Dominice6  noctem  Resurrectionis.  Nocte  uero  ordinentur  duo  FRa/rus 

AUT  TRES  AUT  PLURES,  SI  TANTA  FUERINT  CONGREGATIO,  QUI  IBIDEM  <FOL.  20r> 
PSALMOS  DECANTANDO  EXCUBIAS  FIDELES  EXERCEANT.7 

This  text  of  the  Depositio  not  only  shows  a direct  attach- 
ment of  this  office  to  the  Adoratio , but  it  also  explains  the 
didactic  purpose  of  the  dramatic  ceremonial.  The  Depositio  is 

2 See  above,  pp.  20-22. 

3 The  Depositio,  Elevatio,  and  Visitatio  from  the  Concordia  Regularis  have 
been  printed  numerous  times.  An  adequate  bibliography  of  this  monastic  rule 
is  given  by  Chambers,  II,  306-307.  I take  my  texts  directly  from  Cotton 
MS  Tiberius  A.  III.,  in  the  British  Museum.  This  manuscript  dates  from  the 
early  eleventh  century,  and  represents  the  use  of  Winchester  in  the  latter  part  of 
the  tenth  century.  I scarcely  need  say  that  I have  made  full  use  of  W.  S. 
Logemann’s  admirable  texts  from  the  same  manuscript,  in  Anglia,  XIII,  421- 
428.  Except  for  my  omission  of  the  Anglo-Saxon  glosses,  my  texts  differ  in  no 
essential  way  from  those  of  Logemann. 

4 Cotton  MS  Tiberius  A.  III.,  fol.  19v-20r.  In  the  manuscript  the  first  word 
Nam  of  the  present  text  follows  immediately  the  last  word  facial  of  the  Adoratio 
Crucis  printed  above,  pp.  20-22. 

5 monumenti]  monumento  (MS). 

6 Dominicel  dominica  (MS). 

7 Followed  immediately  by  the  ordo  for  fetching  the  Host  reserved  for  the 
Miss  a Prcesanctificatorum. 


74 


UNIVERSITY  OF  WISCONSIN  STUDIES 


designed  for  enforcing  the  intention  of  the  Adoratio,  and  for 
strengthening  the  faith  of  the  unlearned  and  of  the  neophytes. 
In  a vacant  part  of  the  altar  is  prepared  a likeness  of  the  sepul- 
chrum,  with  a veil  stretched  upon  a ring.  The  deacons  who 
have  carried  the  Cross  for  the  Adoratio  wrap  it  in  a cloth  in  the 
place  of  the  adoration,  and  carry  it  to  the  sepulchrum  singing 
the  antiphons  In  pace  in  idipsum  and  Caro  mea.  The  deacons 
now  deposit  the  Cross  in  the  sepulchrum  as  if  it  were  the  buried 
body  of  Christ,  meanwhile  singing  the  antiphon  Sepulto  Do- 
mino. Here  the  Cross  is  guarded  until  the  night  of  the  Resur- 
rection. Two,  three,  or  more  brothers  are  appointed  to.  keep 
faithful  watch  at  the  sepidchrum  by  night,  singing  psalms. 

Our  knowledge  of  the  Elevatio  is  confined  to  the  following 
sentence:8 

<ELEVATIO  CRUCIS> 

ElUSDEW  TEMPORE  NOCTIS  ANTEQUAM  MATUTINORUM  SIGNA  MOUEANTUR, 
SUMANT  EDITUI  CRUCEM  et  PONANT  IN  LOCO  SIBI  CONGRUO. 

In  this  brief  rubric  the  sacristans  of  the  church  are  charged 
with  taking  the  Cross  from  the  sepidchrum  and  putting  it  in  an 
appropriate  place, — this  to  be  done  before  Matins  on  Easter 
morning. 

The  close  relationship  of  the  Depositio  to  the  Adoratio , as 
seen  in  the  Concordia  Regularis  of  St.  Athelwold,  is  further 
exemplified  in  the  use  of  the  cathedral  of  Rouen.  The  Rouen 
Gradual  of  the  thirteenth  century  provides  for  the  Depositio 
as  follows:9 

< DEPOSITIO  CRUCIS>10 

Quaxdo  Crux  adorata  FueriT  a Clero  et  popmlo  eleuet  eaw  SACerDos 
alte  et  iwcipiat  Cantor  hawc  Antiphonam : 

Super  omnia  ligna  cedrorum,  tu  sola  excelsior,  in  qua  uita  mundi  pepen- 

dit,  in  qua  Xpistus  triumphauit  et  mors  mortem  superauit  in  eternum. 

Quo  uiso  Clerus  et  popmlws  genuflectant  et  chorus  finiat  AHTiphonams 
Qua  cantata  crux  paruuLA  in  cowmemoratjone  sangminis  et  AQue  deflenti. 

8 Cotton  MS  Tiberius  A.  III.,  fol.  21r. 

9 Paris,  Bibliotheque  Nationale,  MS  latin  904,  Graduate  Rothomagense 
saec.  xiii,  fol.  92v-93r.  A photographic  reproduction  of  this  manuscript  occupies 
the  second  volume  of  Le  Graduel  de  VEglise  Cathedrale  de  Rouen  au  xiii e Siede, 
Rouen,  1907  edited  by  H.  Loriquet,  J.  Pothier,  and  A.  Collette.  So  far  as  I 
know,  the  Depositio  from  MS  904  is  now  printed  for  the  first  time.  A bibliog- 
raphy of  the  Rouen  manuscripts  that  contain  liturgico-dramatic  offices  is  given 
by  the  present  writer  in  Modern  Philology , Vol.  VI  (1908),  pp.  224-227. 

10  Bibl.  Nat.  MS  latin  904,  fol.  92v-93r. 


YOUNG — THE  EASTER  SEPULCHRE 


75 


DE  LATerE  ReDEMPTORIS  A Qua  ET  UINO  LAUET  M DE  QUO  COWMEMORATZONEW 
SACRAM  CLERWS  BIBAT  et  POPWLMS  ET  AD  OPUS  INFIRMORttW  RESERUETUR. 

Qwo11  Fac/o  Sacerdotes  et  CLmci  accipiant  Crucifixum  et  portent  ad 

SePULCHRUM  PrePARATUM  CANT  ANTES  HOC  RESPONSORIUW: 

Sicut  ouis  ad  occisionem  ductus  est,  et  dum  male  tracta<fol.  93r>retur 
non  aperuit  os  suum;  traditus  est  ad  mortem  ut  uiuificaret  populum  suum. 
Versus:  In  pace  factus  est  locus  eius  et  in  Syon  habitatio  eius.  Re- 
petendum:  Ut  uiuificaret. 

Et  TUNC  PONATwr  IN  SePULCRO,  PEDIBMS  uersis  AD  ORIENTEW  ET  COOPERIATt<r 
PALLIO,  et  IMCENSANDO  ILLUW  DICAT  PiRCmepisCOpllS  UEL  SACERDOS  HANC 
ANTiPHOKaw: 

In  pace  in  idipsum  dormiam  et  requiescam. 

Qua  cantata  claudat  hostium  Sepulchri. 

Responsoriuw: 

Sepulto  domino  signatum  est  monumentum,  uoluentes  lapidem  ad 
hostium  monumenti,  ponentes  milites  qui  custodirent  illud.  Versus:  Ne 
forte  ueniant  discipuli  eius  et  furentur  eum  et  dicant  plebi:  Surrexit  a 
mortuis.  Repetendum:  Voluentes. 

His  expletis  Ministri  Crucis  casulis  induti  afferant  ad  altare  cum 

UINO  N on  CONSECRATO  RESERUATUW  CORPUS  D«MNLU 

The  Adoratio  Crucis , it  will  be  observed,  ends  with  the 
dramatic,  and  somewhat  exceptional,13  ceremonial  of  the 
washing  of  the  Cross14  with  wine  and  water  in  commemoration 
of  the  Crucifixion.  Then  follows  immediately  the  Depositio 
proper.  After  being  carried  to  the  sepulchrum  during  the 
singing  of  the  responsory  Sicut  ovis,  the  Cross  is  laid  in  the 
sepulchrum , covered  with  a winding  sheet,  and  censed.  After 
the  closing  of  the  door  of  the  sepulchrum  is  sung  the  responsory 
Sepulto  Domino.  Now  follows  immediately  the  Communion 
of  the  Missa  Prcesanctificatorum.] 

The  same  dramatic  office,  with  somewhat  different  rubrics, 
is  found  in  a Rouen  ordinarium  of  the  fourteenth  century  in  the 
following  form:15 


11  It  may  be  said  that  the  Depositio , in  the  strict  sense,  begins  at  this  point. 

12  This  rubric  indicates  the  beginning  of  the  Communion  of  the  Missa 
Prcesanctificatorum i. 

13  See  the  Depositio  from  Barking  below,  p.  119. 

14  It  is  not  clear  that  this  crux  paruula  is  the  Cross  used  in  the  Adoratio  or 
the  one  placed  in  the  sepulchrum. 

15  Rouen,  Bibliotheque  de  la  Ville,  MS  384  ( olim  Y.  110),  Ordinarium  Rotho- 
magense  saec.  xiv,  fol.  80r.  So  far  as  I know  the  Depositio  from  this  manu- 
script is  now  printed  for  the  first  time.  I assume  that  the  same  version  of  the 
Depositio  is  to  be  found  in  two  other  Rouen  ordinaria,  of  the  fifteenth  century: 


76 


UNIVERSITY  OF  WISCONSIN  STUDIES 


< DEPOSIT  10  CRUCIS>16 

QUO17  EINITO  DEFERATUR  CRUCIFIXMS  AD  SEPULCHRUW  A DUOBttS  PmBy/gRIS 

reuest«7j5  qui  cant au efUNT  Popule  meus.  Arch iepiscopus  et  plures  FRa/rES 
cum  eis  cant  antes  incip  iant  Responsorium: 

Sicut  ouis  ad  occis ionem.  Versus:  In  pace  fac/ws  est. 

Quo  COLL0CATO  dicatur  a ntiphona: 

In  pace  in  idipsttm  dor<miam>. 

Postea  ARCHiepiscopus  uel  s Acer  Dos  ostium  Sepulcri  claudat  et  duo  p res- 
ByteRi  cum  eo  et  humili  uoce  incipiant  Responsorium: 

Sepnlto  domino.  Versus:  Ne  forte  ueniant.  Ponentes. 

Quo  PerACTO  kRcmepiscopus  uel  SACerDos  lauet  manus  suas,  et  cum  magna 

REUcrENTIA  AD  SACRATORIUm  Ptf/'GAT.18 

In  liturgical  content  this  text  is  identical  with  that  printed 
above  from  the  Rouen  Graduale  of  the  thirteenth  century;  and 
it  cannot  be  urged  that  the  differences  in  the  rubrics  are  of 
substantial  importance. 

The  extant  service  books  of  Rouen  do  not  mention  the 
Elevatio.  That  this  office  was  introduced  early  into  the  Rouen 
use,  however,  is  clear  from  the  Liber  de  Officiis  Ecclesiasticis 
of  Jean  d’Avranches,  archbishop  of  Rouen  in  the  eleventh 
century.  This  writer  describes  the  Depositio  and  Elevatio  as 
follows: 

< DEPOSIT  10  CRUCIS>19 

Quo<i.e.  Adoratio  Crucis>peracto,  Crucifixus  in  commemoratione 
sanguinis  et  aquas  fluentis  de  latere  Redemptoris  vino  et  aqua  lavetur,  de 
quo  post  sacram  Communionem  chorus  bibat  et  populus.  Post  respon- 
sorium  Sicut  ovis  ad  occisionem,  cantando,  ad  < locum  >aliquem  deferant 
in  modum  Sepulcri  compositum,  ubi  recondatur  usque  in  diem  Dominicum. 
Quo  collocato,  antiphona  In  pace  in  idipsum,  et  responsorium  Sepulto 
Domino  cantetur. 

< ELEVATIO  CRUCIS>20 

Decima  hora  noctis  pauci  clerici  induti  veniant,  et  Crucifixum  cum 
incenso  et  thymiamate  levantes,  antiphonamque  Surrexit  Dominus  de 

(1)  Paris,  Bibl.  Nat.,  MS  lat.  1213;  and  (2)  Rouen,  Bibl.  de  la  Ville,  MS  382 
(olim  Y.  108).  On  this  point  I happen  not  to  have  precise  information  at  hand. 
For  a bibliography  of  these  manuscripts  see  Modern  Philology , VI,  224. 

16  Rouen  MS  384  (olim  Y.  110),  fol.  80r. 

17  This  refers  to  the  washing  of  the  Cross  at  the  end  of  the  Adoratio. 

18  The  Communion  of  the  Missa  Prcesandificatorum  follows  immediately. 

19  Migne,  Pat.  Lat.,  CXLVII,  51-52.  Substantially  the  same  text  is  found 
in  the  anonymous  twelfth  century  treatise  in  Montpellier  MS  H.  304,  fol.  36v. 
In  regard  to  this  manuscript  see  Modern  Philology , VI,  202-206. 

20  Migne,  Pat.  Lat.,  CXLVII,  53.  Substantially  the  same  text  is  found  in 
Montpellier  MS  H.  304,  fol.  37v. 


YOUNG — THE  EASTER  SEPULCHRE 


77 


sepw/cr0<cantantes>,  loco  suo  honorifice  constituant.  Post  cunctis 
campanis  sonantibus,  januas  ecclesiae  aperiant,  et  Matutinas  incipiant. 

This  brief  ordo  for  the  Elevatio  provides  merely  that  before 
Matins  on  Easter  morning  a few  clerics  open  the  sepulchrum , 
cense  the  Cross,  and  carry  it  to  an  appropriate  place,  singing 
the  antiphon  Surrexit  Dominus. 

The  absence  of  the  Elevatio  from  the  Rouen  service-books 
that  contain  the  Depositio  and  Visitatio  is  unfortunate,  but  it 
does  not  prove  definitely  that  during  the  thirteenth,  fourteenth, 
and  fifteenth  centuries  the  Elevatio  was  obsolete.21  It  is,  indeed, 
not  easily  conceivable  that  a use  preserving  the  Depositio  and 
Visitatio  should  suppress  the  intermediate  office.22 

The  close  attachment  of  Depositio  to  Adoratio  which  we 
have  observed  in  the  uses  of  Winchester  and  Rouen  is  further 
exemplified  in  a version  of  the  fourteenth  century  from  Dur- 
ham :23 

< DEPOSIT  10  CRUCIS>24 

Et  sciendum  quod  du m Crux  portatur  et  reportatur  per  me<fol.  177v> 

DIUM  CHORI,  ADORARI  DEBET  AB  OMNIBUS  FLEXIS  GENIBW5.  CUW  UERO  PCT- 
UENERINT  AD  GRADUS  PAUIMENTI,  ProCEDANT  DUO  FRa/rES  CU m CAWDELABRIS  et 

tertius  cum  thuribulo  pttcendentes  Crucis  portatores  et  Episcopuu  UeL 
PriOREM,  qui,  cum  portatorib us  Crucis,  Crucew  in  Sepulcro  collocaturms 
est.  Finita  a nliphona  Super  omnia,  incipiat  Cantor  R esponsorium: 

Tenebre<factae  sunt  dum  crucifixissent  Jesum  Judaei,  et  circa  horam 
nonam  exclamavit  Jesus  voce  magna:  Deus,  Deus,  ut  quid  me  dereliquisti? 
Tunc  unus  ex  militibus  lancea  latus  ejus  perforavit,  et  inclinato  capite 


21  The  bibliography  of  these  service-books  is  given  in  Modern  Philology , 
VI,  224-225. 

22  A suppression  of  this  sort  is  suggested  by  the  editors  of  Le  Graduel  de 
VEglise  Cathedrale  de  Rouen  an  xiiie  Siecle,  Vol.  I,  Rouen,  1907,  p.  58. 

23  British  Museum,  MS  Harl.  5289,  Missale  Dunelmense  saec.  xiv,  fol. 
177r— 177v.  The  manuscript  contains  no  Elevatio  or  Visitatio.  So  far  as  I know, 
the  Depositio  is  now  printed  for  the  first  time.  Parts  of  this  manuscript  are 
printed  in  Publications  of  the  Surtees  Society,  Vol.  CVII  (1902),  pp.  172-191; 
but  the  Depositio  is  not  included.  With  the  Depositio  now  printed  should  be 
compared  the  sixteenth-century  account  of  the  Depositio  and  Elevatio  found 
in  Surtees  Society,  Vol.  XV  (1842),  pp.  9-11  (reprinted  by  Chambers,  II,  310- 
311),  and  in  a new  edition  in  Surtees  Society,  Vol.  CVII  (1903),  pp.  11-13. 
With  the  Durham  Depositio  may  be  classed  a version  from  Fecamp  published 
by  the  present  writer  in  Transactions  of  the  Wisconsin  Academy  of  Sciences, 
Arts,  and  Letters,  XV I,  Part  II,  902. 

24  London,  Brit.  Mus.,  MS  Harl.  5289,  fol.  177r-177v. 


78 


UNIVERSITY  OF  WISCONSIN  STUDIES 


emisit  spiritum.  Versus:  Et  velum  templi  scissum  est  a summo  usque 
deorsum,  et  omnis  terra  tremuit.  Tunc  unus^25 
Quo  DECANTATO,  COLLOCETMP  CRUX  IN  SEPULCRO,  INCEWSATO  LOCO  ANte  POSI- 
c«onew  et  post.  Dum  hec  AGUNTMr  incipiat  Cantor  has  a ntiphonas: 

Proprio  filio  suo  non  pepercit  Deus,  p ro  nobw  omwibws  tradidit  ilium. 

A ntiphona: 

Caro  mea  requiescet  in  spe. 

A ntiphona: 

Dominus  tanqimm  ouis  ad  uictimaw  ductus  est  et  non  aperuit  os  suuw. 
A ntiphona: 

Oblatus  est  quod  ipse  uoluit,  et  pecca/a  nos/ra  ipse  portabit. 

A ntiphona: 

In  pace  in  idipswm  dormiam  et  requiescam. 

DeINDE  DUO  U67TENTES  UULTUW  AD  COWUENTU 1YI  CAN  ANT  HANC  A Yltiphonam: 
Ioseph  ab  Arimathia  petiit  corpws  Ihesu  et  sepelliuit  eum  i n sepulcro  suo. 
Eaq  ue  per  c AWT  at  a descendat  in  reuestiariutw  qui  officiutw  celebrat.26 

At  the  conclusion  of  the  Adoratiol  in  this  case,  is  sung  the 
reponsory  Tenebrce , after  which  file  Cross  is  placed  in  the 
sepulchrum , and  the  place  is  censed.  During  the  laying  down 
of  the  Cross  are  sung  a series  of  five  antiphons.  Then  two 
clerics,  turning  toward  the  conventus , close  the  office  with  the 
singing  of  the  antiphon  Joseph  ab  Arimathea. 

This  immediate  attachment  of  the  Depositio  to  the  Adoratio 
is,  however,  not  general.  Appropriate  though  the  Depositio 
Crucis  truly  is  as  a direct  sequel  to  the  Adoratio  Crucis,  in  most 
cases  the  extra-liturgical  office  is  separated  from  the  Adoratio 
by  other  liturgical  elements.  This  is  the  situation  in  the 
following  version  from  a thirteenth-century  manuscript  of 
Benedictine  use:27 

< DEPOSITIO  CRUCIS  ET  ELEVATIO  CRUCIS  > 28 

SACerDOTES  QUI  AD  ALTARE  DOtfWNICUM  MINISTRABAttT,  STATIW  P OSt  MlSSALE 

Offzwwm  Crucew  QUAm  FRa/rES  deosculati  sunt  in  Sepulchro  h oc  ordine 

COLLOCANT. 


25  Fifth  responsory  in  Matins  of  Good  Friday.  See  Migne,  Pat.  Lat., 
LXXVIII,  766-767. 

26  The  Communion  of  the  Missa  Prcesanctificatorum  follows. 

27  Oxford,  Bodleian  Library,  MS  Canonici  Liturg.  325  (19414),  Ordinarium 
Benedictinum  saec.  xiii,  fol.  78r.  The  manuscript  is  of  German  origin.  See 
W.  H.  Frere,  Bibliotheca  Musico-Liturgica,  Vol.  I,  London,  1901,  p.  21.  The 
Depositio  and  Elevatio  are  now  published,  I believe,  for  the  first  time.  The 
Visitatio  from  this  manuscript  has  been  published  by  the  present  writer  in 
Publications  of  the  Modern  Language  Association,  XXIV,  312. 

28  Bodleian,  MS  Canonici  Liturg.  325,  fol.  78r. 


YOUNG — THE  EASTER  SEPULCHRE 


79 


Duo  EX  IPSIS  ORDINE  PrlORES  PORTANT  CRUCEra,  QUOS  ALII  TRES  CUM  TURI- 
BULIS  ET  CANDELABRIS  PreCEDUNT,  SACerDOTE  EB^omaDARIO  et  ARMARIO  ILLOS 

comitantibws,  siMULQwe  cum  eis  suppress  a uoce  cantantibw^  r esponsorium: 

Ecce  quomoJo. 

R esponsorium: 

Recessit  pastor  noster,  < fons  aquae  vivae,  ad  cu jus  transitum  sol  obscura- 
tus  est;  nam  et  ille  captus  est,  qui  captivum  tenebat  primum  hominem. 
Hodie  portas  mortis  et  seras  pariter  Salvator  noster  disrupit.  Versus: 
Ante  cujus  conspectum  mors  fugit,  ad  cujus  vocem  mortui  resurgunt, 
videntes  autem  eum  portae  mortis  confractae  sunt.  Hodie.  > 

< Antiphon  a > : 

Joseph  ab  Ar imathia. 

Antiphona : 

Sepulto  Domino  < signatum  est  monumentum,  ponentes  milites  qui 
custodirent  illud.>29 

iNTeriM  ponunt  Crucew  super  tapete  stratuw  in  pauimcwto  ; qui  operiENTES 

LINTEO  IWCENSANT  et  APPONUNT  CEREUW,  QUI  IUGITer  ARDEBIT  USQW6  DUW  IN 
NOCTE  CU  ill  ALIIS  EXTINGUATWr. 

Ipsa  vero  Crux  a custodies  RCCLesiy,  in  paschali  nocte  inde  auferenda 
vst  ant eQuam  pulsetur  ad  Noct urnum,  relicto  tam en  linteo  usQwe  dum  in 
IPSA  NOCTE  SePULCHRUW  A FRatrlBUS  UISITETUR.30 

The  Depositio  is  performed  immediately  at  the  close  of 
Mass,  and  the  Cross  employed  appears  to  be  that  previously 
used  in  the  Adoratio.  The  procession,  with  its  musical  pieces, 
is  already  familiar.  The  actual  burial  in  the  sepulchrum  appears 
to  be  represented  in  a very  simple  manner.  After  being  laid 
upon  a carpet  spread  over  the  pavement,  the  Cross  is  merely 
covered  with  a cloth,  censed,  and  provided  with  a lighted 
candle.31  The  Elevatio  seems  to  have  been  performed  before 
Easter  Matins  silently  and  secretly.  No  liturgical  pieces  are 
provided.  The  cloth  is  left  for  use  in  the  later  Visitatio. 

At  Moosburg,  in  Bavaria,  the  Depositio  Crucis  took  place 
after  Vespers,  as  we  see  from  the  following:32 

29  Antiphon  of  Lauds  for  Holy  Saturday.  See  Migne,  Pat.  Lat.,  LXXVIII, 

769. 

30  Followed  immediately  by  the  following  rubric:  Communione  peracta 
extinctis  candelis  percutitur  tabula,  ut  fiat  oratio  uespertina. 

31  From  the  Visitatio,  however,  we  learn  that  the  sepulchrum  was  a contri- 
vance of  some  definiteness  and  amplitude,  for  it  could  be  entered.  See  Pub. 
of  Mod.  Lang.  Assoc.,  XXIV,  312. 

32  Munich,  Hofbibliothek,  Cod.  lat.  23068,  Breviarium  Moosburgense 
saec.  xiv,  fol.  29  lv.  The  manuscript  contains  no  Elevatio.  The  Depositio  is 
now  published  for  the  first  time.  The  Visitatio  (fol.  295v)  has  not  been  printed; 
but  it  is  described  by  N.  C.  Brooks,  in  Zeitschrift  fiir  deutsches  Altertum,  Vol. 
L (1908),  p.  309. 


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UNIVERSITY  OF  WISCONSIN  STUDIES 


<DEPOSITIO  CRUCIS>33 

Dcinde  RECiPiATwr  Crux  et  uoce  lenta  di catur  R esponsorium: 

Ecce  quomodo  moritur. 

R esponsorium: 

Sepulto  Domino. 

Res  pons  orium: 

Recessit  pastor. 

AsperGATur  et  THURiFiCETur.  SEQuiTur  versus: 

In  pace  {actus  est  locus  eius. 

Et  sic  e st  finit um. 

From  these  meagre  rubrics  we  learn  little  more  than  that 
after  the  laying  down  of  the  Cross  the  sepulchrum  is  sprinkled 
and  censed. 

More  generous  details  are  provided  in  the  following  ordo 
from  Andechs:34 

< DEPOSITED  CRUCIS>35 

COWMUNIONE36  EXPLETA,  DICANTUR  VESPgrE  SUBMISSA  UOCE,  PSALMI  Con- 
fitebor  cum  rsliquis.  DeinJc  sequstur  ps almus:  Magnificat;  quo  finito 
DiciTur  versus  Proprio  filio  suo  non. 

Si  uero  quis  int^fuerit  sepulture,  perACTO  officio  sepulture  Cruci- 

FIXI,  TUNC  SUB  SLLENCIO  CIRCA  SEPULCHRUW  LEGUNTUR  VvSperV  ET  CLAUDUN- 
tur  cum  versu  In  pace  factus  est  locus  eius,  et  in  Syon  haMtacio  eius. 

Deestde  Sepulchro  preparATO  et  decenter  ornato,  sint  iNProMPTO  Trix 

THURIBULA  CUM  LNCENSU,  THURE,  MIRRA,  ET  THIMI  AM  ATE , ET  QUaTUOR  CANDELE 

ardentes.  Et  Pontifex  siue  PrespiTER  cum  alus  miuzstris  et  Sacerdoti- 

BUS  PORTENT  YMAGINEM  CrUCIFIXI  UERSUS  SePULCHRUW  LUGUBRI  UOCE  CAN- 
tantes  Responsoriuyt : 

Ecce  quomodo  moritur  iustus.  Versus:  In  pace  f actus. 

Responsorio  finito  collocetur  m Sepulchro  et  lintheamiw^bus  et  suda- 
rio  coopmATUR.  Demde  lapis  sup^/tonalur.  Quo  facto  Clerus  estponat 
ista  Res  pons  orix: 

Sepulto  Domino.  Versus:  Ne  forte. 

Responsoriuyi.: 

Recessit  pastor.  Versus:  Ante  cuius. 


33  Munich,  Hofbibliothek,  Cod.  lat.  23068,  fol.  291v.  The  text  printed 
above  is  preceded  immediately  by  the  ordo  for  Vespers. 

34  Munich,  Hofbibliothek,  Cod.  lat.  24882,  Breviarium  Andecense  saec.  xv, 
fol.  269v.  The  Depositio  is  now  printed  for  the  first  time.  The  manuscript  con- 
tains no  Elevatio.  The  Visitatio  (fol.  274r-275r)  is  presented  by  Lange  (pp.  99- 
101;  cf.  p.  13)  by  way  of  incomplete  variants  appended  to  another  text. 

35  Munich,  Cod.  Lat.  24882,  fol.  269v. 

36  The  Communion  of  the  Missa  Prcesanctificatorum.  From  the  opening 
rubrics  it  appears  that  the  Depositio  is  not  obligatory.  When  the  Depositio 
occurs,  it  occupies  a position  immediately  after  Mass  and  before  Vespers. 


YOUNG — THE  EASTER  SEPULCHRE 


81 


Quibus  finitw  dicatur  Versus: 

In  pace  factws  est  locus  eius. 

Quo  UERSU  OMttES  SEQM6NTES  HORE  CLAUDUn/wr.37 

The  Depositio  is  again  designed  for  performance  immediately 
before  Vespers.  During  the  singing  of  the  responsory  Ecce 
quomodo  the  Imago  Crucifixi 38  is  carried  in  procession  to  the 
sepulchrum.  After  the  Imago  has  been  laid  down  and  covered 
with  a linen  cloth  and  sudary,  the  sepulchrum  is  closed  by  the 
placing  of  a stone.39  The  office  is  concluded  by  the  singing  of 
the  responsories  Sepulto  Domino  and  Recessit  pastor  and  of  the 
versicle  In  pace  f actus. 

In  the  present  series  of  texts  belong  the  Depositio  and  Eleva- 
tio  from  Raitenbuch,  in  Bavaria:40 

< DEPOSITIO  CRUCIS>41 

Et  p ostQuam  omnes  o>wm««icaueriwt,  et  SAceroos  verEGeriT  OFFiawM,42 
UADAT  cum  MlWiSTRIS  et  TOLLAT  OUCIFIXMM  Q uod  FUefAT  ANflEA  PmeNTATUm, 


37  The  rubric  Ad  Completorium  follows  immediately. 

38  The  term  Imago  Crucifixi , which  we  shall  frequently  encounter  below, 
is  far  from  clear.  In  most  cases  it  probably  indicates  merely  the  Crucifix: 
that  is,  the  cross  with  the  corpus  affixed.  It  may  sometimes  mean  the  corpus 
alone,  detached  from  the  cross,  or  even  some  sort  of  special  representation  of 
the  Crucifixion — a painting  or  a carving.  That  the  words  Imago  Crucifixi  may 
indicate  the  corpus  alone  seems  to  be  certain  from  the  following  passage  in  the 
Custumarium  of  Sarum  (W.  H.  Frere,  The  Use  of  Sarum , Vol.  I,  Cambridge, 
1898,  p.  219):  “Omnibus  dominicis  quadragesime,  excepta  prima  dominica, 
deferatur  una  crux  ante  processionem  lignea  sine  ymagine  crucifixi.”  The 
sixteenth  century  “Rites  of  Durham”  ( Surtees  Society , Vol.  cvii,  1903)  speaks 
of  “a  goodly  large  crucifix  all  of  gold  of  the  picture  of  our  sauiour  Christ  nailed 
uppon  the  crosse”  (p.  11),  and  of  “another  picture  of  our  sauiour  Christ,  in 
whose  breast  they  did  enclose  with  great  reuerence  the  most  holy  and  blessed 
sacrament  of  the  altar”  (p.  12).  We  are  told  further  that  “in  the  north  allye 
was  a most  faire  roode  or  picture  of  our  sauiour”  (p.  18).  From  these  passages 
one  infers  that  the  word  “picture”  of  the  Durham  account  refers  merely  to  the 
ordinary  crucifix  (See  op.  cit.,  p.  204). 

39  The  use  of  the  lapis  here  motivates,  of  course,  the  interrogation  Quis  re- 
vohet  nohis  db  hostio  lapidem  quern  tegere  sanctum  cernimus  sepulchrum ? at  the 
beginning  of  the  subsequent  Visitatio.  See  Lange,  p.  100. 

40  Munich,  Hofbibliothek,  Cod.  lat.  12301,  Breviarium  Raitenbuchense 
anni  1431,  fol.  88r,  90r.  These  texts  are  now  printed  for  the  first  time.  The 
Visitatio  (fol.  90v)  has  not  been  published,  but  a description  of  it  is  given  by 
N.  C.  Brooks,  in  Zeitschrift fur  deutsches  Altertum,  L,  299. 

41  Munich,  Cod.  lat.  12301,  fol.  88r. 

42  This  rubric  shows  that  the  Depositio  occurs  immediately  after  the 
Missa  Prcesanctificatorum  of  Good  Friday. 


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PreCEDEWTE  CANDELA  EXTINCTA  et  CrUCE  UELATA  THU/TBMLO  et  ASPgrSORIO. 

Defeat  ad  Locum  Sepulchri  cawtazzdo  lenta  uoce  r esponsorium: 

Recessit  pastor  bonus. 

R esponsorium: 

An te  cuizzs. 

R esponsorium: 

In  pace  fachis  est. 

Denude  locat  ur  cruciFrxuw  in  SEPzacHro.  Et  stantes  citra  dicawt  Vesper  as. 
<ELEVATIO  CRUCIS>43 

In  sanctA  nocte  an  te  Mat  utinum  surOAnR  SACerDOTES  et  CLerici,  et  inTREnT 
ecc/^iam,  ncc  et iam  laycos  izzTRArE  PemiTTAzzT.  Et  uadawt  ad  Sepzzl- 
chrzzzzz  cum  REUcrEN/za,  et  DiCAnT  vsahmm:  Dowz'ne,  quid  multiplicati  et 
ps almum:  Miserere  mei,  Deus,  miserere  mei,  et  ps almum:  Dowz'ne,  probasti  me. 
Demde  Kyrze,  Pater  nos  ter.  Versus:  Exurge,  Doznzne,  adiuua  nos.  Versus: 
Dowz'ne,  Dezzs  uirtutuw  con uerte.  Versus:  Foderuwt  mazzzz^  meas.  Versus: 
Domino,  exaudi  orationem.  ORatio:  Da  nobis.  Demde  Crux  AsnerGAtur  et 
rauriFiCE/zzr.  Et  TOLLEnTES  CrucEzn  canTAnT  R esponsorium  submissa  uoce 
scilicet: 

Du m transisse^. 

Et  duw  perUEneriNT  ad  locuzm  CruciFixi  nicatuR  versus: 

In  resurrectz’one  tua,  'Kpiste. 

ORatio : 

Dezzs  qui  hodzerzza  die  per  uni genitum. 

iBiQzze  LinTHEAzninA  DiznzTTUnT,  et  p ost  ucclesiA  Avveritur,  et  pulse  tar  ad 
MATzz/z'nzzw. 

Since  the  Depositio  calls  for  no  special  comment,  we  may 
confine  our  attention  briefly  to  the  Elevatio.  This  office  is  per- 
formed early  Easter  morning,  before  the  laymen  have  been 
admitted  to  the  church.  At  the  sepulchrum  three  psalms  are 
rendered,  followed  by  the  Kyrie,  the  Pater  Noster,  four  versicles, 
and  a prayer.  After  the  sprinkling  and  censing  of  the  Cross,  it 
is  raised,  during  the  singing  of  the  responsory  Dum  transisset , 
and  carried  in  procession  to  its  appropriate  place,  where  the 
versicle  In  resurrectione  and  a prayer  are  said.  The  cloths  are 
now  removed  from  the  Cross,  and  the  doors  of  the  church  are 
opened  for  Matins. 

In  the  present  somewhat  miscellaneous  group  we  may 
include  the  following  versions  from  Treves:44 

43  Munich,  Cod.  lat.  12301,  fol.  90r. 

44  British  Museum,  Harleian  MS  2958,  Ordinarium  Treverense  saec.  xiii, 
fol.  36r-37r.  The  Depositio  and  Elevatio  are,  I believe,  now  published  for  the 
first  time.  The  Visitatio  (fol.  37v)  has  been  published  by  Lange  (No.  105,  pp. 
10,  71-74). 


YOUNG — THE  EASTER  SEPULCHRE 


83 


<DEPOSITIO  CRUCIS>45 

HlIS  PerACTIS  EXUAT  SACERDOS  CASULAM  ET  INDUATUR  CAPPA  PURPZirEA  ET 
AD  REQUIRENDAM  CRUCEM  DESCENDATUR  HOC  ORDINE.  PrgCEDAT  ALICUS  IN- 
DUTUS  CAPPA  CUM  A Qua  BgNgDICTA;  SEQUANTUR  DUO  ACOLITI  IN  TUNICIS  CUM 
CEREIS,  IN  MEDIO  EOR IWl  ACOLims  In  CAPPA  CUM  THURIBULO;  POST  HOS  SUB- 
DIACONUS  IN  SWBTILI  CUM  TEXTU;  DUO  ALICI  INDUTI  TUNICIS  A DEXTRIS  et  A 
SINISTRIS  EIUS  CUM  CRUCIBMS  SOLLEMPNIBUS ; SEQUATUR  DYACONUS  IN  DALMA- 

tica;  deinde  SAceroos  in  cappa  prout  victim  est.  ProcEDANT  sic  ordinati 
ad  Sawc/AM  Agnetem.  Ibi  inueniri  debet  Crux  ante  altare  uelata,  quam 

TENEANT  a DEXTRIS  ET  A SINISTRIS  DUO  SUBDIACONI  INDUTI  CASULIS  RUBEIS. 

Accedat  SACerDOS,  et  leuato  uelamine  aspo'Gat  Crucem  Aqua  benedicta. 
Post  aspc/sionem  reponatur  uelamen  super  Crucem,  et  incipiat  Cantor 
r esponsorium: 

lhexusaXem  luge; 
detnde  vers um: 

Plange  quasi  uirgo, 

QUE  CANTENTUR  UOCIBUS  SZJBMISSIS  CUM  UgrSIBUS  ET  REPETmOWlBUS,  ET  PRO- 
CEDAT  OMMIS  PROCESSIO  SUO  ORDINE.  SUBDIACONI  UERO  PORTANTES  CRUCEW 
uelatam  immediate  seqwgwtur  Sacerdotem.  Cum  verWNeriST  m CRIPTAM 

ANTE  SePULCRUW,  SACERDOS  ASPgrGAT  SEPULCRUW  Aqua  BENEDICTA  ET  THURI- 

ficet.  Deimde  Crux  ponatur  in  Sepulc^zzm  et  ueletur  panno  albo,  et 
incipiat  Cantor  r esponsorium: 

Ecce  qwomodo  moritur  iustus, 

UOCE  SMBMISSA  CUM  UgrSU  ET  REPg/mOttE.  POST  MODUM  CLAUDATUR  SEPUL- 

cru m,  et  incipiat  Cantor  r esponsorium: 

Sepulto  Domino, 

cum  UERSU  ET  REPg/lTIONE.  S ACgrDO  < S > UERO  DICAT  VgrSICULUM : 

In  pace  factus  est  locus  eius. 

Et<fol.  36v>respondeatur: 

Et  in  Syon  ha&itatio  eius. 

Quibus  perACTis  egrediatm^  processio.46 

<ELEVATIO  CRUCIS>47 

In  die  sancto  Pasce  mane  an te  pulsatzowem  Mat utini  RvuerTATur  vro- 

CESSIO  AD  SEPULCRUrn  SICUT  PrOCESSIT  AD  SEPELIENDWm.  Et  SACerDOS  FLEXIS 
GENIBW5  DICAT  ORfl/iowES  et  AS  Pgr  GAT  AQUA  BgNgD  icta  CRUCEm  et  THURIFIC  ABIT ; 

et  oblato  uelamiwe  dicat  u ersum: 

Surrexit  Dominus  uere, 

leuamdo  CRUCEm.  Et  Cantor  imMEDiATE  iwcipiat  Anliphomni: 

Xpistuc  resurgent, 
et  v ersum: 

Dicawt  nu«c, 


45  MS  Harl.  2958,  fol.  36r-36v.  The  present  text  is  immediately  preceded  by 
this  rubric:  Deinde  Sacerdos  in  altari  Vesperas  concludat. 

46  Followed  immediately  by  the  rubric:  Sabbato  Sancto  ad  Matutinum. 

47  MS  Harl.  2958,  fol.  37r. 


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UNIVERSITY  OF  WISCONSIN  STUDIES 


CUM  REPET itione.  DeINDE  EGREDIAT2W  ProCESSIO,  RELICTO  SUDARIO  IN  MONU- 
mewto,  el  PULSEiwr  ad  Mat utinum. 

The  most  conspicuous  aspect  of  this  office  is  the  location  of 
the  sepulchrum:  in  the  crypt  of  the  church.  Neither  the 
Deposition  after  Vespers,  nor  the  Elevatio,  before  Matins, 
includes  any  unusual  ceremonial.  Noteworthy,  perhaps,  is  the 
fact  that  when  the  Cross  is  taken  up  from  the  sepulchrum,  the 
sudarium  is  left  behind,  for  use  in  the  subsequent  Visitation 

We  may  now  consider  a few  texts  that  specifically  provide 
for  a bit  of  ceremonial  reminiscent  of  the  central  act  of  the 
Adoratio  Crucis, — the  definite  adoring  of  the  Cross.  This 
ceremonial  detail  is  present  in  the  Depositio  from  Clermont- 
Ferrand:49 

<DEPOSITIO  CRUCIS  > 

Tunc  Crux  tollatur  et  deportetur  in  sacrario,  et  sequatur  ab  om»i 

CLERO  CANTANDO: 

Sepulto  'Domino. 

IBIQ ue  DEPONATUR  ET  COOPERIATUR,  ADORETUR,  VENERETUR,  INLUMINETUR  J et 
IBI  STET  USQWC  IN  DIEM  RESURRECTIONIS.50 

In  this  simple  office  the  Cross  is  borne,  immediately  after 
Vespers,  to  the  sacristy.  In  the  laying  down  of  the  Cross 
specific  provision  is  made  for  an  “adoration.” 

Similar  reverence  to  the  Cross  is  provided  for  in  the  use  of 
the  cathedral  of  Freising:51 

< DEPOSITIO  CRUCIS  > 52 

Quando  Imago  Crucefixi  defertur  ad  Sepulchrum  canitmt 
nesponsorium: 

Ecce  quomodo  moritur  iustus, 

48  See  Lange,  pp.  72-73. 

49  Clermont-Ferrand,  Bibliotheque  de  la  Ville,  MS  63  (olim  58),  Missale 
Claromontense  saec.  xiv,  fol.  32v.  This  text  is  now  printed  for  the  first  time. 
The  manuscript  contains  no  Elevatio  or  Visitatio. 

60  Followed  immediately  by  the  rubric:  In  Sabbato  Sancto. 

51  Breuiarium  Frisingense,  Pars  Hyemalis,  Venice,  1516  (British  Museum), 
fol.  194v,  196v-197r.  These  texts  are  now  reprinted  for  the  first  time.  The 
Visitatio  (fol.  197v-198r)  is  reprinted  by  Lange,  pp.  102-103.  With  the  Elevatio 
may  be  compared  the  text  from  Indersdorf  published  by  the  present  writer  in 
Transactions  of  the  Wisconsin  Academy  of  Sciences,  Arts,  and  Letters,  XVI,  Part 
II,  904-905. 

62  Breuiarium  Frisingense , Pars  Hyemalis , Venice,  1516,  fol.  194v. 


YOUNG — THE  EASTER  SEPULCHRE 


85 


SUBMISS  A VOCE.  COLLOCATA  IMAGINE  AD  SePULCHRUM  R esponsorilim: 

Sepulto  Domino, 
et  r esponsorilim: 

Recessit  pastor, 

ut  infra  Sabbato  SEQtteNTi.  Deinde  versus: 

In  pace  factus  est  locus  eius.  Et  habitatio  eius  in  Sion.53 

<ELEVATIO  CRUCIS>M 

In  NOCTE  SaMCTA  ante  pulsum  Matuti<ni>,  COWGREGATIS  SACERDOTIBMJ 
circa  altare  Sowcte'  Crucis,  Decani  cowsueuit  dicere  Confiteor,  et  cetera. 
Reliq ui  subiumgunt:  Misereatur,  et  cetera ; et  repetuwt  Confiteor,  <fol. 
197r>sicuT  ante  Miss  aw. 

DeIWDE  REUERENTer  ACCEDUWT  SePULCHRUW  ET  IBIDEM  DICUWT : 

Ps almum:  Domine,  quid  multiplicati. 

Ps ahnum:  Miserere  mei,  Deus,  miserere. 

Ps  almum:  Domine,  probasti  me,  cuw  Gloria. 

Kiri<e  eleyson>,  Chri<ste  eleyson>,  Kiri<e  eleyson>. 

Taler  noster.  Et  ne<nos  inducas  in  tentationem> . 

Versus:  Exurge,  Domine,  adiuua  nos. 

Versus:  Domine,  exaudi  orationem  mea m. 

Dominus  vobiscum. 

Collecta: 

Da  nobis,  qwesumw.?,  Domine,  auxiliuw  gratie  tue,  ut  paschalia  gaudia 
que  letawtes  exequimur  perpetua  virtute  nos  tueantor  et  saluent.  Per 
Christuw. 

Finita  coLLec/a,  THURiFiCATwr  et  ASPERGiT«r  Imago  Crucifexi,  deferturqwo 
ad  altare  preFATUM  canentibus  Clericis  submiss  a voce  'Responsorium: 
Surrexit  pastor  bonus, 
ut  infra  Feria  Quinta.  Astiphona: 

Christus  resurgens, 
ut  infra  in  Vesperis.  Versus: 

Surrexit  Dominus  vere,  alleluia..  Et  apparuit  Petro,  alleluia. 

Collecta: 

Deus  in  hodierna, 

ut  in  Matutiwo.  Quibws  POrACTIS  MAIOR  OSCULATZfr  Imaginem  et  dicit: 
Surrexit  Dominus. 

Gaudeamus  omnes. 

Similiter  et  alij  faciuwt.55 

Although  the  Freising  Depositio  needs  no  comment,  we  may 
give  at  least  passing  notice  to  the  Elevatio , performed  before 
Easter  Matins.  After  the  Confiteor  at  the  altar  of  the  Holy 
Cross,  the  priests  pass  to  the  sepulchrum , where  they  say  three 


53  Followed  immediately  by  the  rubric:  Ad  Ves<peras>. 

64  Breuiarium  Frisingense,  Pars  Hycmalis,  Venice,  1516,  fol.  196v-197r. 
55  Followed  immediately  by  the  rubric:  Ad  Matuti<num>. 


86 


UNIVERSITY  OF  WISCONSIN  STUDIES 


psalms,  the  Kyrie,  the  Pater  Noster,  and  another  prayer. 
During  the  singing  of  the  responsory  Surrexit  pastor  the  Imago 
Crucifixi,  previously  censed  and  sprinkled,  is  carried  to  the 
altar  of  the  Holy  Cross.  Here  are  rendered  an  antiphon  and  a 
prayer.  The  office  closes  with  the  kissing  of  the  Imago  Cruci- 
fixi by  each  of  the  priests  in  turn,  a ceremonial  act  suggestive 
of  the  Adoratio. 

Relevant  to  the  present  stage  of  our  survey  are  the  following 
two  texts  from  Prague:56 

<DEPOSITIO  CRUCIS>57 

Statim  post  Vesper  as  eunt  in  medium  ecclesie  et  accepta  Cruce  deferant 

EA  < M > IN  LOCUM  SOLEmNIBUS  AULEIS  ORNATUM  CANT  ANTES  ReSpOUSOr  him: 
Ecce  quo modo  morit nr, 

cum  suo  versu,  p^cedentibu  s cereis,  crucibzw,  a Qua  bcn^dicta,  et  incenso. 
Et  reposita  in  loco  cum  reuerentia  a prelato  aspergitur  et  incensatur, 
AC  COOPERITUR  SACRA  PALLA,  et  DICITUR  Versus: 

In  pace  factus  est  locus  eius.  Et  in  SyCon  habitatio  ejus>. 
Redeuntes  camtent  Responsorium: 

Sepulto  Domino, 

cum  versu  et  repetitions.  Lumen  ardens  reponitur  ad  SEPULCHRum 
Domini,  et  legant  Canonici  a senioribus  incipiendo  Psalteria  vel  vicarii 

CANONICORUM  SEDEWTES  AD  SEPULCRWm  BINI  ET  BINI  USQMg  AD  VISITATIO- 
NS < M > SEPULCHRI  MATUTINALEm.55 

<ELEVATIO  CRUCIS>59 

In  SACRA  NOCTE  AN te  MATUTI num  MAGNA  CAMPANA60  PULSATiir,  AD  QUAm 
Domini  Canonici  et  Clerici  cowsurgant  et  eant  ad  SEPULCHRum  in  p ro- 

CESSIONE  PrgCEDENTIBWS  CEREIS,  VEXILL<IS>,  INCEMSO,  ET  AQUA  BgNgDICTA. 

Et  accepta  Cruce  redeuwtes  cantewt  an tiphonam: 

Cum  rex  glorie. 

Et  PONiTwr  an  te  maius  alt  are,  iBiQwe  a Clero  et  popwlo  salutata  STATUiTwr 
in  Locum  suum.61 


56  Breuiarium  H or  arum  Canonicarum  secundum  veram  rubricam  Archiepisco- 
patus  Pragensis,  Venice,  1517,  fol.  199v,  270v  (British  Museum).  The  Depositio 
and  Elevatio  are  now  reprinted  for  the  first  time.  The  Visitatio  (fol.  271r— 27  lv), 
not  yet  reprinted,  is  identical  with  the  Visitatio  published  by  Lange  (pp.  122— 
124)  from  a Prague  “Brevier,  1572”  (See  Lange,  p.  15,  No.  194). 

57  Breuiarium  . . . Archiepiscopatus  Pragensis , Venice,  1517,  fol.  199v. 

58  Immediately  followed  by  the  rubric:  Complete <rium>  ut  iero  cantetur 
in  choro. 

59  Breuiarium  . . . Archiepiscopatus  Pragensis,  Venice,  1517,  fol.  270v. 

60  campana]  campanam  (Print). 

61  Followed  immediately  by  the  rubric:  Ad  Matu<tinum>. 


YOUNG — THE  EASTER  SEPULCHRE 


87 


In  the  case  of  the  Prague  Depositio  we  may  confine  our 
comment  to  the  observation  that  a light  is  placed  before  the 
closed  sepulchrum , and  that  here  the  canons,  two  by  two,  say 
the  psalter  continuously  until  Easter  morning.62  The  notable 
aspects  of  the  Elevatio  are  the  adoration  of  the  Cross  at  the 
main  altar  and  the  singing  of  the  processional  antiphon  Cum  rex 
gloria,  the  latter  embodying  the  theme  of  the  Harrowing  of 
Hell.63 

An  additional  consideration  arises  in  connection  with  the 
following  versions  from  Ranshofen:64 

< DEPOSITIO  CRUCIS>65 

DsiNtfe  Sepulchpo  vrevar  ato  et  decent^  ornato,  siwt  iwpjvmptu  xriA 

THURIBWLA  Cum  IWCENSU  ET  THIMIAMATE,  et  IIII0r  CANDELE  ARDENTES.  Et 

Powtifex  siue  Vres&yteR  cum  aliis  SAcmD0Ti3ws  et  minist/ts  portewt  Ymagi- 
ne m Crucmxi  ue/sus  SEPULCruM  lugubh:  uoce  cantantes  hoc  resp on- 
sorium: 

Responsorium:  Ecce  quomodo  moritar.  Versus:  In  pace  f actus. 

Resp onsorio  finito  coLLOCETwr  in  Sepmlchro  et  linteaminibms  et  sudario 
cooveriATur.  Dein de  lapis  sup^ponatj^.  Quo  Facto  Clerus  iwponat 
resp ons or ia  ista: 

Responsorium : Sepulto  Domino.  Versus:  Ne  forte. 

Responsorium:  Recessit  pastor.  Versus:  Ante  cuias. 

Quib«5  finitis  DiCAxwr  versus: 

Versus:  In  pace  factws. 

Postea  seq uitur  VESPgrA  suppmsA  uoce  dicenda. 

< ELEVATIO  CRUCIS>66 

In  sand  a nocte  ad  Matutinas  clam  suRGixwr,  sintqw<j  par  at  a tria 
thuribula  cum  thure  et  mirra  et  thimiamate.  Et  Domimis  preposixus 

cum  SENIORIBWS  QHOS  ASSUMgfE  UOLUmT  CUfil  MAGNA  REUgfENTIA  ACCEDAWT 
AD  SEPULCrUM  ET  STAWTES  CAWTANT : 

D omine,  probasti.67 

Et  THariFICEWT  YMAGINEm  CrUCIFIXI,  SMBLATAWQMg  de  Sepulchro  se cum 
PORTAWT  m CHOR Um  AN te  ALTARE  Per  UIA m CANTANDO  HUWILI  UOCE  R espOH- 
sorium: 


62  See  above,  p.  14. 

63  See  above,  p.  31. 

64  Munich,  Hofbibliothek,  Cod.  lat.  12635,  Ordinarium  Ranshofenense 
saec.  xiii,  pp.  56,  59.  The  Depositio  and  Elevatio  are  now  printed  for  the  first 
time.  The  Visitatio  (pp.  59-60),  though  described  by  N.  C.  Brooks  ( Zeitschrift 
filr  deutsches  Altertum,  L,  309),  has  not  yet  been  published. 

65  Munich,  Cod.  lat.  12635,  p.  56.  This  text  is  immediately  preceded  by 
the  Communion  of  the  Miss  a Prcesanctificatorum. 

66  Munich,  Cod.  lat.  12635,  p.  59. 

67  Ps.  cxxxviii. 


88 


UNIVERSITY  OF  WISCONSIN  STUDIES 


Surrexit  pastor  bonus  <qui  animam  suam  posuit  pro  ovibus  suis,  et  pro 

suo  grege  mori  dignatus  est,  alleluia,  alleluia,  alleluia>,68 
cum  suo  uersu: 

Versus:  Surrexit  Dowzn«s<de  sepulcro,  qui  pro  nobis  pependit  in 

ligno>.69 
A ntipliona: 

Xpistuc  resurgens. 

QuIBZ^  FINITIS  ST  ANTES  AN  te  ALT  ARE  et  MUTUA  CARITATE  SE  IWUICEW  OSCtt- 
l antes  DicunT  u ersum: 

Surr exit  Dominus  u ere,  et  apparuit  Symoni. 

Et  DiCATwr  ORatio  de  Resurrectione.  DeinJc  cowpulsatione  signormw 

TaCtA,  COWUEWIANT  OMnES  AD  MAT utmUlfl. 

In  the  use  of  Ranshofen  the  detail  of  special  interest  for 
the  moment,  is  the  Kiss  of  Peace  administered  at  the  end  of 
the  Elevatio.  Since,  however,  the  associations  of  the  Pax 
have  been  considered  in  the  preceding  division  of  this  study,70 
we  need  not  re-examine  the  matter  here,  but  may  merely  ob- 
serve the  same  phenomenon  in  the  fifteenth-century  observ- 
ances of  Regensburg:71 

<DEPOSITIO  CRUCIS>72 

POS/QUAW  OwnES  C0WMUNICAUERIMT,  UEWIAWT  SACerDtf/ES  CUW  MlniSTRIS 
ALTAriS  et  CETErlS  CANONICIS  inSTANTIBWS  CUW  MAGNA  REUEREWTIA,  PfgCEDEWTI- 
B US  DUABMS  CRUCIBMS  UELATW  ET  UNA  CANDELA  EXTINCTA  et  ASP0TSORIO  ET 
THURIBULO.  Et  TOLLAWT  CRUCIFIXUW  Quod,  AN  te  FUIT  PreseNTATUW  ET 
DEFERAWT  AD  LOCUW  SEPULCHRI  et  CAWTA«D073  LENTA  UOCE  ReSponSO/iuM : 

Recessit  pastor.  Versus:  Ante  cuins  conspectuw. 

SEQM«Twr  Responsoriuu : 

Ecce  quomodo  moritur  iusttts.  Versus:  In  pace  factws. 

Tunc  LOCEnT  Crucmxuw  in  Sepulchro.  Et  stawtes  circx  DiCAnT  Ves- 
per as. 

68  See  Migne,  Pat.  Lat.,  LXXVIII,  773. 

69  See  id. 

70  See  above,  pp.  45,  65-67. 

71  Munich,  Hofbibliothek,  Cod.  lat.  26947,  Ordinarium  Ratisbonense  saec. 
xv,  fol.  117v,  120v-121r.  The  Depositio  and  Elevatio  are  now  published  for  the 
first  time.  The  Visitatio  has  been  published  by  N.  C.  Brooks,  in  Zeitschriftfiir 
deutsches  Altertum,  L,  298-299.  With  the  Depositio  and  Elevatio  from  Regens- 
burg and  Ranshofen  may  be  compared  the  versions  from  other  churches  pub- 
lished by  the  present  writer  in  the  following  places:  Transactions  of  the  Wiscon- 
sin Academy  of  Sciences,  Arts,  and  Letters,  XVI,  Part  II,  899,  906-908;  Publica- 
tions of  the  Modern  Language  Association,  XXIV,  313;  Pub.  of  the  Mod.  Lang. 
Assoc.,  XXV,  343,  351-354. 

72  Munich,  Cod.  lat.  26947,  fol.  117v.  The  text  is  immediately  preceded 
by  the  Communion  of  the  Missa  Prcesanctificatorum. 

73  cantando]  cantanda  (MS). 


YOUNG — THE  EASTER  SEPULCHRE 


89 


<ELEVATIO  CRUCIS>74 

In  nocte  an te  Matutinas  surgawt  FRa/rES  in  monasteriuw  iwtrawtes, 

NEC  ALIQUEW  LAYCORWW  IWGREDI  PerMITTUWT.  TUWC  UADUMT  AD  SEPULCHRWWl 
CUW  MAGNA  REUEREWCIA,  ET  FACIAWT  ORa/tOWES.  DEINJe  CANTORES  PSalmOS 

Domine,  quid  mwltipli<fol.  121r>cati. 

Ps almus:  Miserere  mei,  Dews,  miserere. 

Psalmus:  D online,  prebasti. 

Kyrie. 

Pater  ~Noster. 

Versus:  Exurge,  Domine,  adiuua  nos. 

Versus:  Domine,  Dews  mrtutum,  conuerte  nos. 

Versus:  Foderuwt  manws. 

Versus:  Domine,  exaudi  orationem. 

Versus:  Da  nobis,  Domine,  auxiliuw. 

DEiNde  Crux  ASPerGATwr  et  THURiFiCETwr.  DEiNde  tollamt  Crucew  et 
camtamt  ResponsoriuM : 

Duw  transissef  Sabbatuw,  < Maria  Magdalene  et  Maria  Jacobi  et  Salome 
emerunt  aromata,  ut  venientes  ungerent  Jesum,  alleluia,  alleluia. 
Versus:  Et  valde  mane  una  Sabbatorum  veniunt  ad  monumentum, 
orto  jam  sole.  Ut  venientes.  >, 

SUBMISSA  UOCE.  DUW  PerUENERIWT  AD  LOCUW  CRUCIFIXI  SACerDOS  SUBIUMGAT 

uersum: 

In  resur  < r > ectzone  tua,  Xp iste. 

SEQWi'xwr  ORatio  : 

Dews,  qui  hodiema  die. 

iBIQWe  LINTHEAMrnA  ET  LUWINA  DIMITT AMTwr.  POSTEA  IUBEWT  IANUAS  APCrlRI 

et  Matutinas  soNArE.  Post  hec  Clerws  mutua  cAriTATE  se  iwuicew 
oscui.awtes  dicawt  versum: 

Surrexit  Dominus. 

Alii  respowdeawt: 

Guadeamws  omnes. 

Dein de  ad  M at utinas  versus:  Domine,  labia  mea. 

Hitherto  in  the  present  section  of  our  study  we  have  en- 
countered only  a slight  suggestion  of  the  theme  of  the  Harrow- 
ing of  Hell.  Although  we  have  observed  the  presence  of  the 
antiphon  Cum  rex  gloria,75  we  have  seen  no  evidence  of  a 
treatment  of  the  theme  dramatically.  For  a treatment  of  this 
kind  we  may  resort  to  the  use  of  St.  Gall:76 


74  Munich,  Cod.  lat.  26947,  fol.  120v-121r. 

76  See  above,  p.  87. 

76  St.  Gall,  Stiftsbibliothek,  MS  448,  Ordinarium  Sangallense  saec.  xv,  pp. 
102,  105.  The  Depositio,  Elevatio,  and  Visitatio  from  this  manuscript  have  been 
previously  published  by  the  present  writer  in  Publications  of  the  Modern 
Language  Association,  XXIV , 319-324. 


90 


UNIVERSITY  OF  WISCONSIN  STUDIES 


<DEPOSITIO  CRUCIS>77 

An tiphona1*  finita,  opines  ascekduwt  c/rCA  altare  et  Dom/nks  Abbas 

EXTjEWS  CASULAM,  STAWTES  AN te  CRUCEM  AD  DEXTRUM79  CORNTJ  ALTAR/V  CArt- 
ta/ites  r esponsorium: 

Ecce  qnomodfl,  submissa  uoce.  Versus:  In  pace  factn.?.  Repeti- 
cto:  Et  erit. 

Post  accipewtes  Crucew  Dom/nms  .Abbas  et  Seniores  portawtes  ad  Sepul- 
chre m cawtawtes  R es  pansari  urn: 

Sic  lit  oui'.  Versus:  In  pace.  Repetido:  Tradit«5. 

Interim  pone/it  Crucem  in  SEPULc/rro  et  clattduwt  euwi,  poxenTES  ante 
Sepulchrum  QnaTUOR  lemma  iuGiTcr  ardewtia,  CAnTAwTES  ^.esponsorium : 
Sepulto  Dam/no.  Versus:  Ne  forte.  Repetido:  Ponentes  mi<lites>. 
DEiNde  Domimus  Abbas  dicat  versum: 

In  pace  factus  est  locns  eitw. 

CoLLeda: 

Respice,  Dcwi/ne. 

Et  ASPERGEWS  SEPULCRUM  AQ«a  BCNeDlC/A,  ET  THURIFICET Ilf  CUM  MCEMSU, 
ET  MISSE  SU«T. 

<ELEVATIO  CRUCIS>80 

Ordo  ad  levawdum  Crucem  sanctxsi  in  s.AcraTissiMA  nocte  pascali. 
Parum  ante  Matut*>«75  Damians  Abbas,  Frevosnus  Deca nus,  Custos,  et 
Seniores  ad  hoc  deputati  surgawt  deluculo,  et  inDuunT  se  albis  et  cappis, 

PerGEnTES  CUM  5UMMA  REUEREnCIA,  CUM  MIw/STR/s  PORTAnTES  AQUAM  BeNe- 

d/c/am  cum  mcewsu,  et  cum  silewcio,  ad  Sepulcrum.  Et  Domimis  Abbas 

CUM  SUM  MO  HONORE  TOTAQnr  DEUITIOWE  FLEXIS  GENLBM5  DEPONAT  SUDARIUM  ET 
LIXTEAMMA  CUM  QUIBilS  ScMC/A  CRUX  Ed  MUOLUTA,  ET  ASPERGEWS  A QUO 
BfXCD/C/A  ET  THURLFICETi/r  CUM  InCEWSU,  ET  CAnTEWT  SUBMISSA  UOCE: 

Xp iste,  sains  serum.  Versus:  PollicitaM,  vsQue  Surge,  sepulte  mens. 

Et  eleuawtes  Crucem  dc  Sepulchro  cawtewt  hos  versus: 

Solue  cathenatns. 

Versus: 

Redde  tuaM  facieM. 

Quibms  finitis,  CAnTATwr  an tiphona: 

Cum  rex  gl orie, 

SUBMISSA  UOCE,  PORTAnTES  CRUCEM  ANTE  CHORMM  I«  MONASTCttO.  Xstiphond 
FINITA,  CAnTAnT  an tiphonam: 

Attollite  portas  pr/n<cipes>, 

TRIBnS  UICIBttS,  PULSAnTES  COWTRA  IANUAM  CUM  PEDE  CRUCIS  IW  SIGNUM 
REDE M PC/OniS  AWIMARWM  EX  LIMBO.  Ad  ISTUM  PULSUM  LANUA  AP£TlT«r. 

FostEA  ponat ur  Crux  ante  .altare  BcaTE  VircintSy  pawno  supposito  ac 

LUMIWE  ACCEWSO,  ur’  A POPKLIS  ADORETnr.  DEIXdtf  DotftfNtfS  ABBAS  DICA<T> 
versum: 


77  St.  Gall,  MS  448,  p.  102. 

7S  The  antiphon  of  the  Magnificat  at  Vespers. 

79  dextrum]  dextraM  (MS). 

80  St.  Gall,  MS  448,  p.  105. 


YOUNG — THE  EASTER  SEPULCHRE 


91 


In  resurrect/owe  tua,  Xp iste. 

Coll  ccla: 

Pr&s/a,  quesumus,  omnipotent  Deus. 

HYS  FINITIS,  ADOREWT  CRUCEW  OSCULANDO  AC  RIGAMDO  LACnMIS  UULNerA  El  US. 

Et  tuwc  fiat  comPULSAcio  omnium  cawpanarww,  pulsawtq«6  tribms  uicibms 

I n SIGNUW  RESURRECTIOWIS.  POST  HOC  PULSAWTW  MATUTIWE. 

Confining  our  attention  to  the  Elevatio,  we  note  that  this 
office  occupies  the  usual  position  before  Easter  Matins.  After 
reaching  the  sepulchrum  in  procession,  the  abbot  removes  the 
sudary  and  linen  from  the  Cross,  and  sprinkles  and  censes  it. 
These  acts,  together  with  the  raising  of  the  Cross  aloft,  are 
accompanied  by  the  singing  of  liturgical  verses.  With  the 
antiphon  Cum  rex  glorice  the  Cross  is  conducted  to  the  door  of 
the  choir.  Here  the  antiphon  Attollite  portas  is  sung  thrice, 
and  the  door  is  struck  thrice  with  the  shaft  of  the  Cross,  in 
signum  redempcionis  animarum  ex  Limbo.  At  the  third  striking 
the  door  is  opened,  and  the  Cross  is  placed  before  the  altar  of 
the  Blessed  Virgin  for  adoration  by  the  congregation. 

In  brief  summary  we  may  observe  that  the  versions  of  the 
Depositio  and  Elevatio  reviewed  in  the  present  section  of  this 
study  differ  from  those  in  the  preceding  section  in  nothing 
fundamental.  The  versions  before  us  range  in  date  from  the 
tenth  century  to  the  sixteenth,  and  they  come  to  us  from  Eng- 
land, France,  Germany,  and  Switzerland.  A clear  majority  of 
them,  however,  are  of  South  German  provenience.  As  we 
should  expect,  the  burial  and  raising  of  the  Cross  bear  con- 
spicuous evidence  of  influence  from  the  Adoratio  Crucis.  For 
their  content  these  versions  borrow  traditional  liturgical  pieces 
from  the  Graduate  and  the  Liber  Responsalis.  From  the  point 
of  view  of  the  history  of  the  drama,  however,  the  most  impor- 
tant aspect  of  these  versions  is  the  prevailing  absence  of  dialogue 
and  the  complete  absence  of  unequivocal  impersonation. 


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UNIVERSITY  OF  WISCONSIN  STUDIES 


V 

Now  that  we  have  examined  the  versions  of  the  Depositio 
and  Elevatio  in  which  the  Host  and  the  Cross  respectively  are 
the  centers  of  devotion,  we  must  complete  our  survey  by  con- 
sidering the  versions  in  which  are  employed  both  the  Host  and 
the  Cross,  along  with  an  inevitable  extension  of  the  ceremonial. 

A simple  Depositio  of  this  type  is  at  hand  from  the  use  of 
St.  Adelph:1 

< DEPOSITIO  CRUCIS  ET  HOSTLE>2 

POSTEA  VADUNT  CUW  CANDELIS  ARDENTIBttS  ET  INCENSU<FOL.  41v>  AD 
LOCUW  SEPULCHRI  ET  IMPONANT  CRUCEW  CUm  EUCHARISTIA.  In  EUNDO  CAN- 
tet ur  Responsorium: 

Ecce  quomodo  moritur  iustus,  et  nemo  percipit  corde;  et  viri  iusti  tollun- 
tur,  et  nemo  considerat;  a facie  iniquitatis  oblatus  est  iustus,  et  erit  in 
pace  memoria  eius.  Versus:  In  pace  factus  est  locus  eius,  et  in  Sion 
habitacio  eius.  Et  erit. 

R esponsorium: 

Recessit  pastor  noster,  fons  acque  vive,  ad  cuius  transitum  sol  obscuratus 
est,  nam  et  ille  captus  est  qui  captiuuw  tenebat  primuw  hominem,  hodie 
portas  mortis  et  seras  pariter  Saluator  noster  disrupit.  Versus:  Ante 
cuius  conspectum  mors  fugit,  ad  cuius  uocem  mortui  resurgunt,  uidentes 
autem  eum  porte  mortis  confracte  sunt.  Ho<die>. 

Imposita  aut em  Cruce,  cantentm^  hee  ANTipnonae.  hntiphona: 

In  pace  in  idipsum  dormiam  et  requiescam. 
hntiphona: 

Caro<fol.  42r>mea  requiescet  in  spe. 

Sudario  superPOSiTO,  cant etur  r esponsorium: 

Sepulto  Domino,  signatum  est  monumentum,  uoluentes  lapidem  ad 
hostium  monumenti,  ponentes  milites  qui  custodirent  eum.  Versus:  Ne 
forte  veniant  discipuli  eius  et  furentur  eum,  et  dicant  plebi:  Surrexit  a 
mortuis.  Ponentes. 

SEQuuntui  Vesperae3  sub  silentio. 


1 Paris,  Bibl.  Nat.,  MS  latin  9486,  Ordinarium  saec.  xii,  fol.  41r-42r.  L. 
Delisle  ( Inventaire  des  Manuscrits  latins  conserves  d la  Bibliotheque  Nationale 
sous  les  Numeros  8823-18613 , Paris,  1863-1871,  p.  35)  mentions  this  document 
briefly  as  “Rituel  de  l’abb.  de  S.  Adelphe.”  The  manuscript  contains  no 
Elevatio.  The  Visitaiio  (fol.  60r-60v)  has  been  published  by  N.  C.  Brooks  in 
Journal  of  English  and  Germanic  Philology , VIII,  466.  Both  the  Depositio 
and  the  Visitatio  are  printed  by  the  present  writer  in  Publications  of  the  Modern 
Language  Association,  XXV,  341-342,  351. 

2 Bibl.  Nat.,  MS  lat.  9486,  fol.  41r-42r.  The  text  printed  here  is  immedi- 
ately preceded  by  the  following  rubric:  Tunc  accedant  omnes  ad  communi- 
onem — referring  to  the  Communion  of  the  Missa  Preesanctificatorum. 

3 Vesperae]  Vespera  (MS). 


YOUNG — THE  EASTER  SEPULCHRE 


93 


This  office  occurs  immediately  after  the  Missa  Prasanctifi- 
catorum.  The  Cross  and  the  Host  are  carried  to  the  sepulchrum 
in  a single  procession.  For  the  laying  down  of  the  Host  no 
special  rubrics  are  given.  The  burial  of  the  Cross  evokes  at 
least  the  ceremonial  of  wrapping  it  in  a sudarium.  The  musical 
pieces  accompanying  the  action  are  already  familiar. 

A similar  version  of  the  Depositio,  with  a fuller  description 
of  the  ceremonial,  is  seen  in  the  following  from  the  use  of 
Aquileia:4 

<DEPOSITIO  CRUCIS  ET  HOSTILE  > 5 
Finito  hymno6  incipit  officium  diei,  ut  in  Missali  continetur.  Ora- 

TIONE7  VERO  EXPLETA,  et  SEPULCHRO  PREPARATO  et  DECENTER  ORNATO,  ASSINT 
INPROMPTU  TRIA  THURIBULA  CUM  INCENSO  THURIS,  MIRRHE,  et  THIMIAMATIS, 
et  QUATUOR  CANDELE  ARDENTES;  et  MINISTRI  CUM  SACERDOTIBUS  PORTENT 

Imaginem  Crucifixi  versus  Sepulchrum,  et  Officians  sequatur  portans 
Sacramentum  Eucharistie  in  sanctuario  repositum.  Chorus  vero  in 

TALI  PROCESSIONE  LUGUBRI  VOCE  CANTET  RESPONSORIUM  CUM  SUO  VERSU: 

Ecce  quomodo  moritur  iustus,  et  nemo  percipit  corde;  et  viri  iusti  tollun- 
tur,  et  nemo  considerat;  a facie  iniquitatis  oblatus  est  iu<p.  121>stus,  et 
erit  in  pace  memoria  eius.<  Versus  > : In  pace  factus  est  locus  eius,  et  in 
Syon  habitatio  eius.  Et  erit  in  pace. 

Quo  finito  et  du m ad  Sepulchrum  vewtum  sit,  Officials  locet  SACRa- 
mentmi  in  sawctuario  repositum8  ad  locum  in  Sepulchro  ad  hoc  paratum. 
Deimde  Ministri,  et  Sacerdotes  Imaginem  Crucifixi  collocemt  in  Sepul- 
chro, et  COOPERIAWT  LINTHE AMINIBU S et  SUDARIO,  et  SUPPONAWT  LAPIDEM. 
Chorus  cantet  ResponsoriuM  cum  suo  versu: 

Recessit  pastor  noster,  fons  aque  viue,  ad  cuius  transitum  sol  obscuratus 
est;  nam  et  ille  captus  est  qui  captiuum  tenebat  primum  hominem.  Hodie 
portas  mortis  et  seras  pariter  Saluator  noster  destruxit.<p.  122 >Yersus: 
Ante  cuius  conspectum  mors  fugit,  ad  cuius  vocem  mortui  resurgunt; 
videntes  auteM  euM  porte  mortis  confracte  sunt.  Hodie  portas. 
Officians  vero  thurificet  Imaginem  Crucifixi  sic  in  Sepulchrum  positam, 

et  ASPERGAT  AQUA  BENEDICTA.  Et  POSTEA  CLAUDITUR  SEPULCHRUM,  et  CLAUSO 
APPONUNT  SIGILLA  OFFICIANTES  et  LAICI  PRESIDENTES,  et  CHORUS  CANTET  RE- 
SPONSORIUM SEQUENTEM  CUM  SUO  VERSU  t 


4 Agenda  Diocesis  Sanctae  Ecclesiae  Aquilegiensis,  Venice,  1575,  pp.  120-123 
(Paris,  Bibl.  Nat.).  The  Depositio  is  now  reprinted  for  the  first  time.  The 
Visitatio  (pp.  115-117)  has  been  published  by  Lange  (No.  167,  pp.  13,  105- 
106).  The  edition  of  1575  contains  (pp.  112-115)  also  an  Elevatio;  but  the 
only  copy  of  this  edition  accessible  to  me  lacks  the  pages  (pp.  113-114)  contain- 
ing the  greater  part  of  this  office. 

5 Agenda  Diocesis  Sanctae  Ecclesiae  Aquilegiensis , Venice,  1575,  pp.  120-123. 

6 The  Crux  fidelis,  closing  the  Adoratio  Crucis. 

7 The  closing  Oratio  of  the  Missa  Prcesanctificatorum. 

8 repositum]  reposito  (Agenda). 


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UNIVERSITY  OF  WISCONSIN  STUDIES 


Sepulto  Domino,  signatum  est  monumentum,  voluentes  lapidem  ad 

hostiuw  monumenti,  ponentes  milites  qui  custodirent  illud.  < Versus  > : 

Ne  forte  veniant  discipuli  eius  et  furentur  eum,  et  dicant  plebi:  Surrexit  a 

mortuis.  Ponentes.  <p.  123  > 

Quo  FINITO  OFFICIANS  DICAT  VERSICULUM: 

In  pace  factus  est  locus  eius. 

Et  respondent  Ministri  et  Sacerdotes: 

Et  habitatio  eius  in  Syon. 

Tandem  circa  Sepulchrum  dicantur  Vespere  secunduw  rubric  aw  Breuia- 
rii.  Et  sub  Magnificat  Officians  et  Ministri  cum  tribus  thuribulis 
Sepulchrum  thurificewt  et  Sacerdos  acqua  benedicta  aspergat.  Finitis 
autew  Vesperis,  Scholares  secunduw  morew  patrie  incipiunt  legere 

PSALTERIUW. 

The  office  here  occurs  immediately  after  the  Miss  a Prce- 
sanctificatorum.  In  the  procession  to  the  sepulchrum  the 
ministers  of  the  Mass  carry  the  Imago  Crucifixi,  and  the 
officiant,9  the  Host.10  The  first  deposits  the  Host  in  a part  of 
the  sepulchrum  especially  prepared  for  it.  Then  the  ministers 
and  priests,  after  laying  down  the  Imago  Crucifixi,  cover  it  with 
cloths  and  the  sudary,* 11  and  place  over  it  a stone.12  After 
censing  and  sprinkling  the  Imago , they  seal  the  sepulchrum. 
The  musical  pieces  accompanying  the  action  require  no  com- 
ment. The  most  notable  aspect  of  this  version  is  the  distinct- 
ness with  which  the  Host  and  Cross  are  separated  in  their 
ceremonials. 

In  association  with  these  two  versions  of  the  Depositio  we 
may  appropriately  consider  one  or  two  relatively  simple  texts 
of  the  Elevatio.  Such  a text  may  be  seen  in  the  following  from 
Harlem,  in  Holland:13 

9 I take  this  to  be  the  priest  who  has  officiated  at  the  Missa  Prcesanclifica- 
torum. 

10  I am  not  absolutely  certain  of  the  meaning  of  the  phrase  in  sanctuario 
repositum,  which  occurs  twice.  The  word  sanctuarium  may  indicate  the  sacristy, 
or  place  of  reservation,  in  which  the  special  (third)  Host  was  reserved  from 
Holy  Thursday;  but  the  word  may  also  indicate  (see  Du  Cange)  a theca,  or 
box,  for  carrying  the  Host  in  the  procession  before  us. 

11  In  the  Visitatio  occurs  (p.  117)  the  rubric  lintheamina  et  sudarium  quibus 
Imago  Domini  erat  inuoluta,  indicating  that  only  the  Imago,  and  not  the  Host,  is 
covered  in  this  way. 

12  The  rubric  may  intend  that  the  lapis  for  closing  the  door  of  the  sepulchrum 
confines  within  the  structure  only  the  Imago,  the  Host  being  exposed  upon  a 
sepulchre — altar  outside. 

13  Harlem,  Bischofliches  Museum,  MS  258,  Graduale  Harlemense  (?)  saec. 
xiii,  fol.  44v.  This  text  of  the  Elevatio  has  been  previously  printed  by  Lange 


YOUNG — THE  EASTER  SEPULCHRE 


95 


<ELEVATIO  CRUCIS  ET  HOSTLE>14 
Ordo  in  die  Res urrectionis. 

In  die  Dominice  Resurrectionis  ante  Matutinuw  tempus  V'Res^yteri 
visitent  Sepulchred  cu m thuribulis  cawtando  r esponsorium: 

Angelus  Domini .16 

Extollant  etiam  Cruced  de  Sepulch^  cud  Eucharistia  et  in  alio  loco 

PON  AWT  cvm  REVERENTIA. 

According  to  these  meagre  rubrics  the  Elevatio  is  found  in 
the  normal  liturgical  position,  before  Easter  Matins,  and  pro- 
vides merely  a simple  procession  of  priests  who  visit  the  sepul- 
chrum  and  carry  the  Host  and  Cross  thence  to  a place  not 
specified.  In  its  general  simplicity,  and  in  its  use  of  the  respon- 
sory  Angelus  Domini , the  version  before  us  resembles  the  Ele- 
vatio printed  above  from  a manuscript  of  the  eleventh  century 
from  St.  Gall,16  the  latter  text  being  found  in  a position  before 
the  Te  Deum  at  the  end  of  Easter  Matins.  The  resemblance 
between  the  two  versions  suggests  the  possibility  that  at  an 
early  period  the  Elevatio  normally  occurred  at  the  end  of  Matins, 
and  that  it  was  transferred  to  a place  before  Matins  in  order  to 
make  way,  at  the  Te  Deum,  for  a newly  invented  Visitatio.11 

Another  simple  version  of  the  Elevatio  is  found  at  Kloster- 
neuberg  in  the  following  form:18 

< ELEVATIO  CRUCIS  ET  HOSTLE>19 
In  sancta  nocte  antequam  sonentur  Matutine,  Prelatus  aliquibus 

SIBI  ADIUNCTIS  CORPUS  DoMINICUM  ET  CRUCEM  DE  SEPULCHRO  TOLLANT  CUM 

(No.  142,  pp.  12,  93),  along  with  the  Visitatio.  I print  from  a photograph  of  the 
manuscript  page.  Whether  the  manuscript  contains  a text  of  the  Depositio, 
I do  not  know. 

14  Harlem,  MS  258,  fol.  44v. 

15  For  the  complete  responsory  see  above,  p.  30. 

16  See  above,  p.  30. 

17  See  above,  pp.  31,  72,  and  below,  p.  123. 

18  H.  Pfeiffer’s  article  Klosterneuburger  Osterfeier  und  Osterspiel  ( Jahrbuch 
des  Stifles  Klosterneuburg,  Vol.  I,  Vienna,  1908,  pp.  1-56)  supersedes  all  previous 
publication  upon  the  Easter  liturgical  plays  of  Klosterneuburg,  in  Austria,  and 
provides  bibliography.  Since  I have  not  had  access  to  the  manuscripts  of  this 
monastery,  I reprint  the  Elevatio  as  published  by  Pfeiffer  (p.  16)  from  MS  629, 
fol.  102r-103r,  of  the  fifteenth  century.  From  this  manuscript  he  prints  (pp. 
16-18)  also  the  Visitatio.  Although  it  appears  (Pfeiffer,  p.  20,  note  2)  that  the 
Klosterneuburg  manuscripts  contain  texts  of  the  Depositio,  he  prints  none  of 
them. 

19  Klosterneuburg  MS  629,  fol.  102r-103r. 


96 


UNIVERSITY  OF  WISCONSIN  STUDIES 


DEUOTIONE  ET  REVERENTIA,  ADOLENTES  ET  ASPERGENTES  EA,  AC  CANENTES 
SUB  SILENCIO  responsorium: 

Surrexit  pastor  bonus,  qui  posuit  animam  suam  pro  ovibus  suis;  et  pro 
suo  grege  mori  dignatus  est,  aeuia,<fol.  102v>aeuia,  aeuia.<  Versus > : 
Surrexit  Dominus  de  sepulchro,  qui  pro  nobis  pependit  in  ligno.  Et  pro. 
Deinde  hos  psalmos  cantent: 

Conserva  me,  Domine.<fol.  103r> 

Domine,  probasti  me. 

Require  in  parasceve. 

Versicula: 

Surrexit  Dominus  de  sepulchro,  alleluja.  Qui  pro  nobis  pependit  in 
ligno,  alleluja. 

Oracio  : 

Oremus:  Deus  qui  hodiemo  die  per  unigenitum  tuum  eternitatis  nobis 
aditum  devicta  morte  reserasti,  vota  nostra,  quae  praeveniendo  aspiras 
eciam  adiuvando  prosequere.  Per  eundem  Dominum. 

This  office  occurs  before  Matins.  During  the  singing  of  the 
responsory  Surrexit  pastor  the  abbot,  accompanied  by  other 
clerics,  takes  the  Cross  and  Host  from  the  sepulchrum  and 
places  them  in  some  appropriate  place.  The  observance  con- 
cludes with  the  rendering  of  two  psalms,  a versicle,  and  a prayer. 

We  have  already  noticed  a tendency  to  discriminate  clearly 
between  the  Host  and  the  Cross  in  the  ceremonial.20  This 
distinction  is  particularly  evident  in  the  following  version  of 
the  Elevatio  from  Augsburg:21 

<ELEVATIO  CRUCIS  ET  HOSTLER 
In  ipsa  nocte,  mattutina  luCe  appropenquante,  Custodes  ECCLmE  cum 

SACERDOTIBUS  MATURIttS  AN te  ALIOS  SURGE«TES  CCWUENIAttT  IN  ECCLESIArn. 
Et  LOTIS  MANIBMS,  CUm  CEREIS  DUOBUS  et  THURIBULIS  et  AQ ua  BeNeDICTA  REVER- 
ENTER,  QUASI  SECRETO,  PfOCEDAMT  AD  LOCUm  u6l  CRUX  et  CORPttS  DomZNI  In 
Sexta  Fcrja  fuerawt  tumulata.  AsperSA  Autem  et  thurificata  Cruce, 
MAJOR  INTer  SACERDOTES  REVERENTISSIME  TOLLAT  CALICEm  cum  Corpore 
Domim;  cetc/t  uero  CRUCEm  portent.  Sindone  qua  fuit  cooperrA  in  ipso 
LOCO  RELICTA,  et  LUMINIBMS,  NE  LOCMS  DESPECTUS  VIDEATMr,  PreCEDENTIBMS 
CEREIS  et  IWCENSO  PORTENT  ILLAm  AD  ALTARE  UBI  OFFICIUm  E St  P£f AGENDU m 
submiss  a uoce  cawtantes  Responsorium: 

Surrexit  pastor  bonus  qui  posuit  animam, 


20  See  the  texts  from  St.  Adelphe  and  Aquileia,  above,  pp.  92-94. 

21  Munich,  Hofbibliothek,  Cod.  lat.  226,  Rationale  Officiorum  Divinorum 
Augustanense  saec.  xi-xii,  fol.  10r.  The  Elevatio  is  now  published  for  the  first 
time.  The  manuscript  contains  no  Depositio.  The  Visitatio  (fol.  10v— 1 lr)  is 
printed  by  Lange  (No.  110,  pp.  10,  82-83). 

22  Munich,  Hofbibliothek,  Cod.  lat.  226,  fol.  10r 


YOUNG — THE  EASTER  SEPULCHRE 


97 


cum  versu: 

Surrexit  Dominus  de  s epulchro. 

SEQuituR  ORatio : 

Deus,  q ui  unigenitum. 

Et  cooperiATwr  Crux  Be  linteo  mundo.  Calix  au tern  cum  Corpore  Domim 

REPONAT Ur  in  Pn'NCIPALI  ALTARE  DONEC  ALICUI  DET Ilf  AD  C0WSUMENDUW. 
Quo  FACTO  REVerTANTUR  In  CHOR um  et  ounes  MUTUA  CARITATE  SE23  INVICEW 
OSCULENTUR.  Et  DICAT  PriOR : 

Surrexit  Xpistuc. 

Respondent  : 

Gaudeamzw  omwes. 

Et  statiw  cowpulsentur  omnix  signa  sollewnissime  ad  excitanduw  et 

CONUOCANDUW;  et  INTerVALLO  MODICO  FACTO,  BIN  A et  BINA  SIGNA  MOROSIMS 

PULSENTwr;  et  in  fine  illor um  rursus  comRULSETur.  Et  iwponat  Sacerdos 

TONALI  VOCE: 

Demine,  labia  mea  aperies. 

This  office  is  performed  privately  before  Easter  Matins. 
After  being  sprinkled  and  censed,  the  Cross  is  taken  up  from 
the  sepulchrum  by  the  assistant  clerics.  Leaving  behind  the 
winding  sheet,  they  carry  the  Cross  to  a special  altar.24  Here  a 
prayer  is  said,  and  the  Cross  covered  with  a clean  cloth.  The 
chalice  containing  the  Host25  is  taken  up  separately  by  the 
senior  priest,  and  placed  upon  the  main  altar.  The  ordo  pro- 
vides that  the  Host  shall  be  left  upon  the  main  altar  until  it 
is  given  to  an  appropriate  person  to  be  consumed.  After  these 
ceremonials  the  procession  returns  to  the  choir,  where  the  Pax 
is  given  and  a versicle  and  response  delivered. 

In  the  following  versions  from  York  the  separation  between 
Host  and  Cross  is  extreme:26 


23  se]  si  (MS). 

24  I infer  that  this  is  an  altar  connected  with  the  sepidchrum.  It  may, 
however,  be  the  altare  majus. 

25  That  the  Host  is  carried  within  the  chalice  may  fairly  be  inferred  from  the 
rubric  Calix  autem  cum  Corpore  Domini.  See  above,  p.  50.  It  may,  however, 
be  intended  merely  that  the  chalice  accompany  the  Host.  See  below,  p.  102. 

26  Manuale  et  Processionale  ad  Usum  insignis  Ecclesiae  Eboracensis , in 
Surtees  Society , Vol.  LX  III,  1875,  pp.  163-164,  170-174.  This  edition  of  the 
Manuale  is  based  upon  that  of  Wynkyn  de  Worde,  London,  1509.  The  Deposi- 
tion but  not  the  Elevatio , is  found  also  in  Missale  ad  Usum  insignis  Ecclesiae 
Eboracensis,  in  Surtees  Society , Vol.  LIX,  1874,  pp.  106-107.  The  liturgical 
documents  of  York  contain  no  Visitatio. 


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<DEPOSITIO  CRUCIS>27 

Tandem  adorata  Cruce  bajulant  eam  duo  Presbyteri  ascendentes 

PER  PARTEM  AQUILONAREM  CHORI  USQUE  AD  SEPULCHRUM,  ET  IBI  SaCERDOS 
INCIPIAT  ANTIPHON  A < M > : 

Super  omnia  ligna  cedrorum  tu  sola  excelsior,  in  qua  vita  mundi  pepen- 
dit,  in  qua  Christus  triumphavit,  et  mors  mortem  superavit  in  aeternum. 
Antiphon  a: 

In  pace  in  idipsum  dormiam  et  requiescam. 

Antiphon  a: 

Habitavit  in  tabernaculo  tuo;  requiescet  in  monte  sancto  tuo. 
Antiphon  a: 

Caro  mea  requiescet  in  spe. 

POSTEA  EXSECUTOR  OFFICII  GENUFLECTENS  PONAT  CRUCEM  IN  SEPULCHRO,  ET 
THURIFICET  EAM,  ET  ERECTUS  INCIPIAT,  ET  CHORUS  FINIAT: 

Sepulto  Domino  signatum  est  monumentum;  ponentes  milites  qui 
custodirent  illud. 

<ELEVATIO  CRUCIS  ET  HOSTLE>28 
In  aurora  pulsatis  CAMPANIS  ad  classicum,  congregato  Clero  et  POPULO, 

FLEXIS  GENIBUS  DICITUR  ORATIO  DOMINICALISJ  ET  POSTEA  SACERDOS  THURIFICET 

Sepulcrum,  et  proferatur  Sacramentum  cum  Imagine  cum  corona  spinea. 
Incipiatur  responsorium:  Christus  regnat,  quod  cantetur  circa  fontem, 
cereis  pr^cedentibus.  Responsorium: 

Christus  resurgens  ex  mortuis  jam  non  moritur;  mors  ill!  ultra  non 
dominabitur.  Quod  enim  vivit,  vivit  Deo,  alleluja,  alleluja.  V<er- 
sus  > : Dicant  nunc  Judaei  quomodo  milites  custodientes  Sepulchrum 
perdiderunt  regem  ad  lapidis  positionem.  Quare  non  servabant  petram 
justitiae?  Aut  sepultum  reddant,  aut  resurgentem  adorept  nobiscum 
dicentes.  Quod. 

Psalmus: 

Te  Deum  laudamus  ....  non  confundar  in  aeternum.29 
V <ersus>  : 

Resurrexit  Dominus.  Sicut  dixit  vobis. 

Oratio: 

Praesta,  quaesumus,  omnipotens  Deus,  ut  in  resurrectione  Domini  nostri 
Jesu  Christi  cum  omnibus  sanctis  percipiamus  portionem.  Qui  tecum 
vivit  et  regnat  Deus.  Per  omnia. 

Deinde  osculetur  cuppa  in  qua  est  Sacramentum,  primo  a Sacerdote,  et 

POSTEA  A POPULO. 

It  will  be  observed  that  the  York  Depositio  is  attached 
directly  to  the  Adoratio  Cruets,  and  that  the  Host  is  not  men- 
tioned. That  the  Host  was  involved  in  the  sepulchrum  offices 


27  Manuale  . . . Ecclesiae  Eboracensis,  in  Surtees  Society,  LX  III,  163-164. 

28  Id.,  pp.  170-174. 

29  In  the  Surtees  text  the  Te  Deum  is  given  in  full. 


YOUNG — THE  EASTER  SEPULCHRE 


99 


is  clear,  however,  from  the  fact  that  the  Elevatio  mentions 
it  particularly.30 

Discrimination  between  the  Cross  and  the  Host  is  seen  again 
in  the  use  of  the  cathedral  of  Exeter.31  The  Depositio  takes  the 
following  form: 

< DEPOSITIO  CRUCIS  ET  HOSTLE>32 

DeINDE  EXUAT  SACERDOS  CASULAM  TANTUM,  ET  IN  ALBA  ASSISTENS  ASSUMAJ 
UNUM  DE  PRELATIS  IN  SUPPERELLICIO  ET  REPONAT  CRUCEM  PARITER  CUM 
CORPORE  DOMINICO  IN  SEPULCRO,  INCIPIENS  HOC  RESPONSORIUM: 

Estimatus  sum. 

Chorus  prosequatur:  Cum  descendentibus,  et  cetera.  Deinde  incensato 
Sepulcro  et  clauso  hostio  eiusdem,  incipiat  ipse  Sacerdos  r esponsorium: 
Sepulto  Domino. 

Chorus  prosequatur:  Signatum,  et  cetera.  Item  idem  Sacerdos  incipiat 
antiphon  am: 

In  pace  in  idipsum. 

Chorus:  Dormiam. 

Idem  Sacerdos  incipiat  antiphon  am: 

In  pace  factus  est. 

Chorus:  Locus  eius. 

Item  Sacerdos  AXTiphonam: 

Caro  mea. 

Chorus:  Requiescet  in  spe. 

Tunc  omnes  cum  deuocione  genuflectant,  et  adorata  Cruce,  recedant.33 

This  ordo  provides  that  after  Vespers,  during  the  singing  of 
the  responsory  A estimatus  sum,  a priest,  accompanied  by  one 
prelate,  deposits  in  the  sepulchrum  both  Cross  and  Host.34 
Then  after  the  censing  of  the  sepulchrum  and  the  closing  of  the 
door,  is  sung  the  responsory  Sepulto  Domino.  The  office  is  con- 
cluded by  the  singing  of  three  antiphons  and  an  adoration 
of  the  Cross.35 

30  The  York  texts  may  serve  as  a reminder  that  the  absence  of  Host  or 
Cross  from  an  isolated  version  of  the  Depositio  or  Elevatio  does  not  definitely 
prove  the  absence  from  the  sepulchrum  offices  of  the  object  ignored  in  the  rubrics. 

31  Ordinate  Exoniense,  edited  from  a manuscript  of  the  fourteenth  century 
by  J.  N.  Dalton,  in  Henry  Bradshaw  Society , Vol.  XXXVII,  London,  1909. 
From  Exeter  no  Visitatio  is  forthcoming. 

32  Henry  Bradshaw  Society , XXXVII,  321. 

33  Followed  immediately  by  the  rubric  In  Vigilia  Pasce. 

34  The  reservation  of  this  Host  on  Holy  Thursday  is  provided  for  in  the 
following  rubric  ( Henry  Bradshaw  Soc.,  XXXVII,  318):  Ponantur  a diacono 
tres  hostie  ad  sacramentandum,  quarum  due  reseruantur  in  crastinum,  una 
ad  percipiendum  a sacerdote,  reliqua  ut  reponatur  cum  cruce  in  sepulcro. 

36  I am  not  clear  as  to  what  cross  is  the  center  of  this  concluding  adoration. 
By  this  time  the  cross  used  in  the  Depositio  is  enclosed  within  the  sepulchrum. 


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UNIVERSITY  OF  WISCONSIN  STUDIES 


The  Elevatio  from  Exeter  is  described  in  the  following  or  do: 
<ELEVATIO  CRUCIS  ET  HOSTLER 
In  aurora  diei  ante  pulsacionem  campanarum  et  ante  eciam  Matutinas 

CONUENIANT  CLERICI  OMNES  ET  LAICI  AD  ECCLESIAM,  ET  ACCENDANTUR  OMNIA 
LUMINARIA  PER  ECCLESIAM.  EPISCOPUS  ET  DeCANUS  VEL  ALIE  DUE  DIGNIORES 
PERSONE  PRESENTES  IN  SUPPERELLICIJS  CUM  CEROFERARIJS  ET  THURIBULARIJS 
ALBIS  INDUTIS  AD  SEPULCRUM  UNA  CUM  TOTO  CHORO  CIRCUMSTANTE  ACCEDANT, 
ET  FACTA  DEUOTA  GENUFLEXIONE,  INCENSATOQUE  PRIUS  SEPULCRO,  CUM  MAGNA 
UENERACIONE  CORPUS  DOMINICUM  ACCEPIENTES  PRIUATIM  SUPER  ALTARE  DE- 

ponant.  Item  accipientes  cum  genuflexione  Crucem  de  Sepulcro  in- 

CHOENT  EPISCOPUS  ET  DeCANUS,  SI  ASINT;  SIN  AUTEM,  DeCANUS  CUM  ALIA 
EXCELLEN  CIORE  PERSONA,  ALTA  UOCE  HANC  ANTIPHON  AM: 

Christus  resurgens. 

Cum  qua  antephona  eat  processio  choro  canente  totam  antiphonam  cum 
versu.  Et  tunc  PULSENTUR  OMNES  campane  in  classicum.  Et  sic  cum 
MAGNA  UENERACIONE  DEPORTETUR  CRUX  SOLEMPNITER  INTER  EOS  SUPER 
BRACHIA,  ET  THURIBULARIJS  ET  CEROFERARIJS  PRECEDENTIBUS,  PER  HOSTIUM 
AUSTRALE  PRESBITERIJ  INCEDENTES  ET  CLRCUMEUNDO  PER  MEDIUM  CHORI 
REGREDIENTES,  CHORO  SEQUENTE  HABITU  NON  MUTATO,  SCILICET  IN  CAPIS  NIGRIS, 
AD  LOCUM  UBI  PROUISUM  FUERIT,  EXCELLENCIORIBUS  PERSONIS  PRECEDENTIBUS. 
FlNITA  ANTIPHONA  CUM  SUO  VERSU  A TOTO  CHORO,  DICAT  EXCELLEN CIOR  PER- 
SONA IN  IPSA  STACIONE  ANTE  ALTARE  AD  CLERUM  CONVERSUS  HUNC  VersiWi: 
Surrexit  Dominus  de  sepulcro; 

Responsum: 

Qui  pro  nobis  pependit  in  ligno,  alleluya; 

cum  oracione: 

Deus  qui  pro  nobis. 

Nec  precedat  nec  subsequatur:  Dominus  vobiscum,  set  finiatur:  Per 
Christum  Dominum  nostrum.  Finita  oracione,  omnes  cum  gaudio  genua 

FLECTANT  IBIDEM  ET  IPSAM  CRUCEM  ADORENT,  IN  PRIMIS  A DIGNIORIBUS  PER- 
SONIS. Interim  pulsetur  ad  Matutinas. 

This  office  is  celebrated  before  Matins  on  Easter  morning  in 
the  presence  of  laymen  and  clergy.  After  the  arrival  at  the 
sepulchrum  of  the  Bishop,  Dean,  and  two  others  in  procession, 
and  after  the  censing  of  the  place,  the  Host  is  taken  up  sepa- 
rately and  carried,  without  processional  singing,  to  the  altar. 
Then  the  Cross  is  raised  and  taken  in  procession  into  the  choir, 
during  the  singing  of  the  antiphon  Christus  resurgens.  During 
the  procession  all  the  bells  of  the  church  are  rung.  In  the 
choir  are  said  a versicle  and  response,  and  a prayer.  The  office 
closes  with  an  adoration  of  the  Cross.  The  special  reverence 
paid  to  the  Cross  in  the  Elevatio , along  with  the  closing  obser- 


36  Henry  Bradshaw  Society , XXXVII,  138-139. 


YOUNG — THE  EASTER  SEPULCHRE 


101 


vance  of  the  Depositio , seems  especially  to  indicate  the  influ- 
ence of  the  Adoratio  Cruets. 

In  the  present  part  of  our  review  belong  the  texts  from  the 
cathedral  of  Bayeux.37  The  Depositio  is  found  as  follows: 

< DEPOSITIO  CRUCIS  ET  HOSTI2E>38 
Deinde39  exuat  Pontifex  casulam,  et  accipiens  Crucem  super  altare 

JACENTEM,  CUM  ALIO  SACERDOTE,  INCENSATO  PRIUS  SePULCHRO,  PONAT  EAM 
CUM  MAGNA  REVERENTIA  IN  IPSO  SEPULCHRO,  SUPPOSITIS  PULVINARI  ET  MUNDIS 
ET  ALBIS  LINTIIEAMINIBUS,  ASTANTIBUS  DUOBUS  CEROFERARIIS  IN  SUPELLITIISJ 

et  ponendo  iNCEPiAT  Cantor  media  voce  r esponsorium: 

Estimatus  sum<descendentibus  in  lacum;  f actus  sum  sicut  homo  sine 
adjutorio,  inter  mortuos  liber*  Versus:  Et  sicut  vulnerati  dormientes, 
projecti  in  monumentis,  quorum  non  es  memor  amplius,  et  ipsi  de  manu 
tua  repulsi  sunt.  Factussum.>, 

CHORO  EXCIPIENTE  IN  EADEM  VOCE  ILLUD  IDEM  CUM  SUO  VERSU  ET  REGRESSU. 

Deinde  accipiat  Episcopus  de  manu  Diaconi  in  pixide  sindone  cooperta 
Corpus  Dominicum  a die  precedenti  reservatum  et  reponat  illud  honori- 

FICE  IN  IPSO  SEPULCHRO  JUXTA  CRUCEM.  PONAT  ETIAM  IBIDEM  EPISCOPUS  EX 
ALIA  PARTE  CRUCIS  CALICEM  [VACUUM],  PATEN  AM,  [CORPORALIA]  SINDONE  ETIAM 

involuta.  Deinde  claudens  ipse  Sepulchrum  iterum  incenset  illud,  et 
incipiat  Cantor  r esponsorium: 

Sepulto  Domino, 

VOCE  QUA  PRIMUM,  ET  SIMILITER  EXCIPIATUR  A CHORO  CUM  SUO  VERSU  ET 
REGRESSU.  QUIBUS  CANTATIS  INCIPIAT  IPSE  PONTIFEX  AXTiphotiam : 

In  pace  in  idipsum. 

Item  incipiat  [similiteb]  ant iphonam: 

In  pace  factus  est. 


37 1 present  the  texts  given  by  U.  Chevalier,  Ordinaire  et  Coutumier  de 
VEglise  caihedrale  de  Bayeux  ( Bibliotheque  Lilurgique , Vol.  VIII,  Paris,  1902), 
from  Bayeux  MS  121  of  the  thirteenth  century.  Martene  prints  the  Depositio 
(p.  367)  andElevatio  (p.  478)  from  “Bajocensis  ecclesiae  ordinarium  ante  annos 
400  quantum  conjicere  licet  exaratum,” — a document  that  we  may  date  about 
the  year  1300.  Except  for  a passage  that  I reprint  in  foot-note  40  below, 
Martene’s  Depositio  does  not  differ  substantially  from  the  text  given  by  Cheva- 
lier (pp.  133-134)  from  MS  121.  Martene’s  Elevatio  I reprint  in  a foot-note. 
From  the  Bayeux  Consuetudinarium,  contained  in  manuscripts  of  the  thirteenth 
century,  Chevalier  gives  brief  ordines  for  the  Depositio  (pp.  388-389)  and 
Elevatio  (p.  390).  Similar  to  this  last  text  is  the  Elevatio  printed  by  A.  Gaste 
( Les  Drames  liturgiques  de  la  Cathedrale  de  Rouen , Evreux,  1893,  p.  63)  from 
“indications  que  nous  fournit  Radulphe  1’ Angevin  dans  son  Ceremonial,  redige 
en  1269.”  The  liturgical  manuscripts  of  Bayeux  do  not  contain  the  Visitalio 
Sepulckri. 

38  Bibliotheque  Lilurgique , VIII,  133-134.  Cf.  the  ordo  in  the  Consuetudi- 
narium, id.,  pp.  388-389. 

39  This  text  is  immediately  preceded  by  the  ordo  for  Vespers. 


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UNIVERSITY  OF  WISCONSIN  STUDIES 


Ultimo  autem  incipiat  ant ipJionam: 

Caro  mea. 

Et  sic  compleatur  diei  istius  officium.  Nota  vero  quia,  quamdiu  Corpus 
Dominicum  jacet  in  Sepulchro,  ardent  continue  duo  cerei  ante  illud 
SUPER  TAPETUM  ibidem  protentum. 

*This  office  occurs  after  Vespers.  The  bishop,  assisted  by 
another  priest,  takes  up  the  Cross  lying  on  the  altar,  deposits 
it  in  the  sepulchrum,40  and  places  over  it  a cushion  and  clean 
white  cloths.  Meanwhile  is  sung  the  responsory  Aestimatus 
sum.  Then  the  bishop  places  beside  the  Cross  a pyx  containing 
the  Host,41  and  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  Cross,  an  empty 
chalice  and  a paten.  After  the  sepulchrum  has  been  closed,  are 
sung  the  responsory  Sepulto  Domino  and  three  antiphons.  It 
is  to  be  observed  that  for  the  period  during  which  the  Host 
remains  in  the  sepulchrum  two  lights  are  kept  burning  before 
the  place. 

The  Elevatio  at  Bayeux  is  ordered  as  follows:42 


40  The  location  and  furnishing  of  the  sepulchrum  are  described  briefly  in  the 
following  rubric  communicated  by  Martene  (p.  367) : Hodie  paretur  sepulcrum 
versus  cornu  altaris  sinistrum,  linteaminibus  mundis  et  palliis  pretiosis,  et 
aliis  sicut  pretiosius  fieri  consuevit. 

41  That  this  Host  is  especially  reserved  from  Thursday  we  learn  from  the 
Consuetudinarium  of  Bayeux,  in  which  it  is  spoken  of  ( Bibliotheque  Liturgique , 
VIII,  389)  as  Corpus  Dominicum  a die  prccedente  reservatum.  See  also  Martene, 
p.  367. 

42  Since  the  Elevatio  communicated  by  Martene  (p.  478)  differs  considerably 
from  the  text  of  Bayeux  MS  121  used  by  Chevalier,  I reprint  Martene’s  text 
entire: 

Ante  matutinas  facta  pulsatione  & conglobato  choro  ante  altare,  cereis  & 
thuribulis  accensis,  episcopus  superpelliceo  & stola  indutus,  facta  oratione  ante 
altare,  stans  ad  cornu  dextrum  altaris,  lavat  manus,  incensum  benedicit,  illudque 
ponit  in  thuribulo,  & in  medio  altaris  corporate  explicat.  Sacerdos  similiter 
indutus.  Deinde  accedit  ad  sepulcrum  ex  utraque  parte  expansum,  in  quo 
pyxis  cum  reliquiis  supradictis  reservatur : quam  flexis  genibus  incensat,  eamque 
postea  defert  ad  altare,  & cum  ea  clero  & populo  in  modum  crucis  benedicit 
more  consueto,  & supradictum  corporate  reponit  & incensat,  moxque  ex  ea 
sumptum  Corpus  Dominicum  genibus  flexis  adorandum  ostendit.  Quo  in 
pixide  reposito,  redit  ad  eumdem  locum,  unde  calice  cum  patena  & bursa 
sumptis,  & ad  altare  delatis,  ultimo  vero  crucem  extollens,  & ad  altare  conversus 
incipiat  antiphonam  Christus  resurgens  cum  suo  versu  & regressu.  Tunc  omnes 
cum  gaudio  flexis  genibus  adorent  crucem,  cantantes  eamdem  antiphonam, 
quae  dum  cantatur  supra  altare  crucem  deponit.  Quo  facto,  stans  episcopus 
dicat  xersum  Surrexit  Dominus  de  sepulcro,  & orationem  Deus  qui  pro  nobis 
Filium  tuum.  Deinde  cantatur  antiphona  Regina  ceeli  cum  suo  versu  & oratione. 


YOUNG — THE  EASTER  SEPULCHRE 


103 


< ELE V ATIO  CRUCIS  ET  HOSTILE  > 43 
In  die  sancto  Pasche  fit  festum  duplex  cum  iiii°r  capis  de  stallo  altiori* 

PULSATUR  ETIAM  SICUT  IN  NATALI  DOMINI  QUASI  PER  HORAM  UNAM  VEL  CIRCA 
ANTE  DIEM.  QUA  PULSATIONE  FINITA,  CLERO  ANTE  ALTARE  CONGLOBATO, 
EPISCOPUS,  CEREIS  ET  THURIBULIS  ACCENSIS,  ACCEDAT  AD  SEPULCHRUM.  QUO 

incensato,  Corpus  Domini  inde  sumptum  cum  reverentia  magna  deponat 

SUPER  ALTARE;  DEINDE  CALICEM,  ULTIMO  VERO  EXTOLLENS  IPSE  CRUCEM  DE 

Sepulchro  incipiat  ant iphonam: 

Xpistus  resurgens. 

Tunc  omnes  cum  gaudio,  flexis  genibus,  adorent  Crucem,  cantantes  ean- 

DEM  ANTIPHONAM  CUM  SUO  VERSU  ET  REGRESSU.  POSTEA  EADEM  CRUCE  POSITA 
AB  IPSO  EPISCOPO  SUPER  ALTARE  BEATORUM  RAVENNI  ET  RASIFI,  DICAT  IPSE 
EPISCOPUS,  STANS  AD  IDEM  ALTARE  VeTSUm: 

Surrexit  Dominus  de  sepulchro. 

Et  P ARVO  Miss ALI  APERTO  SUPER  IPSUM  ALTARE:  SCILICET,  AD  PEDEM  CRUCIS, 
SUB JUNGAT  ADHUC  EPISCOPUS : OremuS,  ET  ORATIONEM  ETC.  DlCAT  EPISCOPUS 
versum: 

Surrexit  Dominus  de  sepulchro, 

ET  ORATIONEM.* 

Deus  qui  pro  nobis  Filium, 

IN  MODUM  LECTIONIS.  STATIM  POST  EPISCOPUS,  CAPA  SERICA,  MITRA,  BACULO, 
CEROTHECIS,  ET  ANULO  REDIMITUS,  INCIPIT  DE  STALLO  SUO  MATUTINAS  MODO 
COMMUNI. 

According  to  this  version  the  bishop  proceeds  in  procession 
to  the  sepulchrum,  censes  the  place,  and,  one  at  a time,  carries 
the  Host,  the  chalice,  and  the  Cross  to  positions  upon  the 
altar.  As  he  takes  up  the  Cross  he  begins  the  antiphon  Chris- 
tus  resurgens.  The  Cross  is  then  adored,  and  subsequently 
taken  to  the  altar  of  Saints  Ravennus  and  Rasiphus,  where 
two  prayers  and  appropriate  versicles  are  said.  The  Elevatio 
is  followed  immediately  by  Matins.44 


quae  dum  cantatur,  episcopus  iterum  populo  & clero  cum  pyxide  benedicit 
eamque  incensatam  sacerdos  in  loco  consueto  reponit,  deinde  lavat  manus  ad 
idem  cornu  dextrum  altaris,  & dicit  orationem  Deus  qui  per  resurrectionem  . . . 
statim  post  episcopus  cappa  serica  & mitra  cum  baculo,  chirothecis,  & annulo 
redimitus  incipit  matutinas. 

43  Bibliotheque  Liturgique,  VIII,  139.  Cf.  the  ordo  in  the  Consuetudinarium, 
id.,  p.  390. 

44  In  view  of  the  especial  reverence  shown  to  the  Cross  in  the  Elevatio  of 
Bayeux,  I find  this  a convenient  point  at  which  to  refer  to  a similar  emphasis 
in  versions  from  Caen,  Dublin,  and  Sarum.  Since  these  versions  have  already 
been  brought  into  relation  with  the  drama  in  recent  publications,  I do  not  reprint 
them  in  the  present  study.  The  Elevatio  from  the  Church  of  St.  Sepulcre,  Caen, 


104 


UNIVERSITY  OF  WISCONSIN  STUDIES 


We  now  proceed  to  a series  of  texts  of  especial  interest 
through  the  fact  that  the  versions  of  the  Elevatio  among  them 
contain  suggestions  of  the  theme  of  the  Harrowing  of  Hell.45 
From  Eichstatt  are  available  a text  of  the  Depositio  and  two 
texts  of  the  Elevatio :46 

< DEPOSITIO  CRUCIS  ET  HOSTILE  > 47 

DeMUM48  SaCERDOS  CUM  PARTICULIS  MIXORIBUS  RETEnTIS  et  C ALICE  VACUO 
AC  CRUCE  QUAW  PRIUS  SuBDIACONI  GESTABAXT,  ProCEDAT  ad  Sepulchrum  et 
HEC  IN  SePULCHRO  HONORIEICE  RECOnDAT,  CHORO  SUBMISSA  VOCE  CANEWTE 
RESPOwsoRium: 

Recessit  pastor  noster, 
et  respowsorium: 

Ecce  cpiomodo  morit ur  iustus. 

Et  ibidew  VESPcrE  sub  silewtio. 

< ELEVATIO  HOSTLE>49 

Incipit  ordo  in  festo  sancte  Pasce.  Ite m ante  Matutinuw  itur  ad 
Sepulchrum  et  canuntur  antiphone  subscripte.  Et  tres  Domim  simul 
cantewt  TreviAm  antiphon  am:60 


and  the  Depositio,  Elevatio,  and  Visitatio,  from  the  Church  of  St.  John  the 
Evangelist,  Dublin,  have  been  printed  by  the  present  writer  in  Transactions  of 
the  Wisconsin  Academy  of  Sciences,  Arts,  and  Letters,  XVI,  Part  II,  901,  916- 
924.  The  Depositio  and  Elevatio  of  the  Sarum  use  are  fully  presented  by  Cham- 
bers, II,  312-315. 

45  See  above,  pp.  31,  90-91. 

46  So  far  as  I know,  these  texts  are  now  published,  or  reprinted,  for  the  first 
time.  The  Depositio  is  reprinted  from  Missale  secundum  Chorum  et  Ritum 
Eiistetensis  Ecclesie,  Nuremberg,  1517,  fol.  LXXXVr  (British  Museum).  This 
book  contains  no  version  of  the  Elevatio  or  Visitatio.  The  first  text  of  the 
Elevatio  published  below  is  from  Munich,  Hofbibliothek,  Cod.  lat.  3918,  Obse- 
quiale  Eystettense  saec.  xiv,  fol.  75r-75v.  The  manuscript  contains  no  text  of 
the  Depositio.  The  Visitatio  (fol.  75v-76v)  is  mentioned  by  N.  C.  Brooks,  in 
Zeitschrift  fur  deutsches  Altertum , L,  302,  but  is  still  unpublished.  The  second 
text  of  the  Elevatio  printed  below  is  found  in  Reverendissime  in  Christo  patris  D. 
Christophori  pie  memorie  Episcopi  Eistetensis  iussu  inchoatus  est  liber  isle 
Obsequiorum  Ecclesie  absolutus  vero  electo  iam  Reverendissimo  D.  Mauritio  ab 
Hutten:  et  Deus  bene  vertat,  1539,  fol.  cxlviiir-clr  (British  Museum).  This  book 
contains  no  Depositio.  The  Visitatio  from  it  is  printed  by  Lange  (No.  106,  pp. 
10,  71-74). 

47  Missale  . . . Eiistensis  Ecclesie,  Nurenberg,  1517,  fol.  LXXXVr. 

48  Preceded  immediately  by  the  rubric : Et  communicare  volentes  commu- 
nicent. 

49  Munich,  Cod.  lat.  3918,  fol.  75r-75v. 

60  antiphonam]  antiphanam  (MS). 


YOUNG — THE  EASTER  SEPULCHRE 


105 


Ad  monumewtuw  venimus  gementes;  angelum  Domfwi  sedentem  vidimus 
et  dicentew  quia  surrexit  Ihcsus. 

Pmius  eorww  canit  antiphon  am51  sequentem: 

Surrexit  Dominws  de  sepulchro  qui  pro  nobis  pependit  in  ligno,  alleluia. 

SsCWWDUS  EORMW  CANIT  ANTIPHON  AM:  51 

Surrexit  Xpis/us  et  illuxit  popwlo  suo,  quern  redemit  sanguine  suo, 
alleluia. 

Tercius  canit  antiphon  am: 

Venit  Maria  nuwcians  discipulis  quia  vidi  Domi num,  alleluia. 

DEINDE  LEGANTUR  ORa^ONES  QUE  in  Parascave  legebantur  ante  crucem 
flexis  genibus  scilicet: 

Domine  Ihesu  Xp iste  gloriosissme  conditor, 
et  cetera  ut  supra  patescunt.52  Finitis  aut em  ORa/ioNiBUS  portatur  Corpus 
X.visll  AD  CHORUM  SEW  AD  LOCUM  SUUW  DEPUTATUM,  ET  CANITUR  AN  tip  Ilona 

subscripta:<fol.  75v> 

Cum  rex  glorie  Xpislus  infernuw  debellaturus  intraret,  et  chorus  angeli- 
cus  ante  faciew  eius  portas53  principum  tolli  preciperet,  sanctorum  populus 
qui  tenebatur  in  morte  captiuw.?  uoce  lacrimabili  clamauerat:  Advenisti 
desiderabilis  quern  exspectabam«s  in  tenebris,  ut  educeres  hac  nocte 
uinculatos  de  claustris;  te  nos/ra  vocabant  suspiria,  te  larga  requirebant 
lamenta;  tu  factus  es  spes  desperatis  magna  consolacio  in  tormentis.54 

< ELEV ATIO  CRUCIS  ET  HOSTLE>55 
Ordo  in  festo  sancto  Pasche. 

Item  ante  Matutinum  itur  ad  Sepulchrum  et  canuntur  ant iphone 
subscripte.  Et  tres  Domini  simul  cantent  primam  ant iphonam: 

Ad  monumentuw  venimus  gementes;  angelum  Domini  se<fol.  cxlviiiv> 
dentem  vidimus  et  dicentem  quia  surrexit  Ihesus. 

Primus  eorum  incipit: 

Surrexit  Dominus  de  sepulchro  qui  pro  nobis  pependit  in  ligno,  alleluia. 
<fol.  cxlixr> 

Secundus  eorum  incipit: 

Surrexit  Christus  et  illuxit  populo  suo  quern  redemit  sanguine  suo, 
alleluia. 

Tertius  eorum  incipit: 

Venit  Maria  nuncians  di<fol.  cxlixv>scipulis  quia  vidi  Dominum,  alle- 
luia. 

DeINDE  LEGANTUR  ORATIONES  QUE  IN  PARASCEUE  LEGEBANTMr  Fol.  Cxi  ANTE 

Crucem  flexis  genibus,  scilicet: 

Domine  Ihesu  Christe. 


51  antiphonam]  antiphanaw  (MS). 

52  As  to  the  reading  patescunt  I am  uncertain. 

53  portas]  portans  (MS). 

54  Followed  immediately  by  the  rubric:  Deinde  Matutinum  peragitur  more 

suo. 

55  Reverendissimi  in  Christo  . . . Episcopi  Eistetensis  iussu  . . . bene 
vertat,  1539,  fol.  cxlviiir-clr. 


106 


UNIVERSITY  OF  WISCONSIN  STUDIES 


F IXITIS  OR  AT  10  X IB  US  PORT  AT  CORPUS  CHRISTI  AD  CHORUM  SEU  AD  LOCUM  SUUM 
DEPUTATUM  ET  CANTTUR  AXTHIPOXA  SUBSCRIPTA  SUBML5SA  VOCE; 

Cum  rex  glorie  Christus  infemum  debellaturus  intraret,  et  chorus  angeii- 
cus  ante  faciem  eius  portas  principum  tolli  preciperet,  sanctorum  populus 
qui  tenebatur  in  morte  captiuus<foL  clr>voce  lacrimabili  clamauerat: 
Advenisti  desiderabilis  quern  expectabamus  in  tenebris,  vt  educeres  hac 
nocte  vincula tos  de  claustris;  te  nostra  vocabant  suspiria,  te  larga  require- 
bant  lamenta;  tu  f actus  es  spes  desperatis.  magna  consolatio  in  tormentis, 
alleluia. 

Deinde  fit  pulsus  camp  axis,  et  Matutixum  peragitur  MORE  SUO. 

The  Eichstatt  Depositio  is  unusual  in  its  close  attachment 
to  the  Miss  a PrcBsanctificatorum.  Immediately  after  the  Com- 
munion the  Celebrant  carries  to  the  sepulchrum  certain  particles 
of  the  Host  used  in  the  Mass,56  along  with  the  empty  chalice  and 
the  Cross.  These  objects  he  reverently  lays  down  during  the 
singing  of  two  responsories. 

It  will  be  observed  that  the  two  texts  of  the  Elevatio  are 
substantially  identical.  At  the  sepulchrum , before  Easter 
Matins,  are  rendered  some  four  antiphons  and  a series  of 
prayers.  Then  during  the  singing  of  the  antiphon  Cum  rex 
glorice  the  Corpus  Christi  is  carried  to  the  choir,  or  to  some  other 
appropriate  destination.  The  dramatic  theme  of  the  Descensus 
latent  in  this  antiphon  is  in  no  wise  developed.  Noteworthy  is 
the  silence  of  the  rubrics  concerning  the  Cross. 

Somewhat  more  highly  elaborated  than  the  versions  from 
Eichstatt  are  those  from  Meissen.  Of  the  Depositio  from  this 
church  we  possess  the  following  two  texts.*57 

56  That  no  Host  was  reserved  on  Holy  Thursday  specifically  for  the  Deposi- 
tio appears  from  the  following  rubric  in  the  Missale  of  1517  (fol.  lxxviiiO : Duas 
hostias  maiores,  quarum  unam  ipse  in  hac  Missa  sumat,  alteram  uero  in  cras- 
tinum  pro  celebrante  officium  reseruet. 

57  One  of  these  texts  is  found  in  Benedictionale  siue  Agenda  secundum  ritum 
et  consuetudinem  Ingenue  ecclesie  Misnensis,  Meissen,  1512,  fol.  xxxviiv- 
xxxviii7,  reprinted  in  Liturgische  Bibliothek,  Yol.  I (ed.  A.  Schonf elder),  Pader- 
bom,  1904,  p.  14.  A similar  text  from  Agenda  Xumburgense , Nuremberg,  1502, 
fol.  Lxxiiii,  is  reprinted  ibid.,  p.  69.  The  second  text  of  the  Depositio  printed 
below  is  found  in  Breuiarius  denuo  reuisus  et  emendatus  Ceremonias  Ritum 
canendi  legendi  ceterasque  consuetudines  in  choro  insignis  et  ingenue  Misnensis 
Ecclesie  obseruandas  com  pend  iose  explicans,  Meissen,  1520,  sig.  F 3 recto  (British 
Museum).  I reprint  also  the  Elevatio  from  this  book  (sig.  F 4 verso).  The 
Visitatio  (sig.  F 4 verso-F  5 recto)  has  been  reprinted  by  Lange,  in  Zeitschrift 
fur  deutsches  Altertum,  XLI,  82-83. 


YOUNG — THE  EASTER  SEPULCHRE 


107 


<DEPOSITIO  CRUCIS  ET  HOSTI.E>i8 

Deinde  Sacerdos  continuet  Officium  Misse  secundum  ordinem  Missa- 
lis,  et  Vesperis  finitis  Sacerdos  indutus  c.appa  cum  maiore  qui  presens 

FUERIT  DEPORTET  CRUCEM  AD  LOCUM  SEPULCHRE  CUM  THURIB ULI5  ET  CANDELI3 
SEQUENTE  EOS  CONUENTU  CANT  ANTES  SUBMISS  A VOCE: 

Ecce  quomodo  moritur  iustus  et  nemo  percipit  corde;  viri  iusti  tolluntur 
et  nemo  considerat;  a facie  iniquitatis  sublatus  est  <fol.  xxxviii>  iustus. 
Et  erit  in  pace  memoria  eius.  In  pace  factus  est  locus  eius,  et  in  Syon 
habitacio  eius. 

Quo  FINITO  DICANTUR  SEPTEM  PSA1ML  QUIBUS  FINITIS  RECEDANT  A SePULCHRO 
CANT  ANDO  RESPONSORIUM : 

Sepulto  Domino  signatum  est  monumentum,  voluentes  lapidem  ad 
ostium  monumenti,  ponentes  milites  qui  custodirent  illud.  Ne  forte 
veniant  discipuli  eius  et  furentur  eum  et  dicant  plebi : Surrexit  a mortuis.5 

<DEPOSITIO  CRUCIS  ET  HOSTLE>®° 

Finitis  Vesperis,  omwES  persone  lumina  ardentla  habentes  iuuenes  et 
senes,  precedantqwc  Pheretrum:  Scolares,  Chorales,  et  Capellani;  post 
hos,  qui  Pheretrum  portant.  Mox  SEQunwr  Pheretruw  Officlans  cum 
SACRAMEnTO;  HUWC  PRECEDIT  DyACONUS  ET  SUBDYACONUS,  UNUS  TABULAR 
percUtlews.  Hinc  sequuwtur  Canonici,  post  Vicarii  omnES  cant  antes: 
Ecce  quomodo  moritwr  iustus,  et  cetera. 

FlTQttg  PROCESSIO  EX  CHORO  IN  AMBITUm  INTRANDO  ECCLESLAm,  CERCUm- 
GIRANDO  PER  CaPELLAW  DuCUm  VSQUe  AD  LOCUm  UBI  SEPULCHRUm  PARATUm 

est  in  Capella  Slmonis  et  Iude.  Ibi Que  ponat ur  Corpus  cum  Pheretro 
et  Sacramentuw  super  altare  ibidem.  Et  Officlans  aqua  benedicta 
asperso  et  thurificato  Pheretro,  incipiant?^  septew  psalmi  more  solito. 
Quibus  finitis  diotur: 

Christus  factus  est  pro  nobis  obediens,  et  cetera. 

Et  Officlans  dicit  collect  Am: 

Respice,  qK€^mttS,  Damfne, 

sine  Oremus  et  sine  cowclusione.  Qutbus  peractis  redit  processio  ad 
chorum  per  ianuas  DoMiNORum  Prepositi  et  Decani,  cum  responsorio  : 
Sepulto  Damz'no. 

Et  tunc  Chorales  sint  statim  parati  ad  legendu m Psalterium.*1 

This  office62  begins  mth  a carefully  arranged  procession  to 
the  sepulchrum  after  Vespers.  Especially  noteworthy,  for  our 
present  purpose,  is  the  fact  that  the  Crucifix  is  borne  upon  a 

58  Eenediclienale  . . . Ecclesie  Misnensis,  Meissen,  1512,  fol.  xxxviiv- 
xxxviiir. 

59  Followed  immediately  by  the  rubric  In  Vigilia  Pasce. 

60  Breuiarius  . . . Misnensis  Ecclesie  . . . , Meissen,  1520,  sig.  F 3 
recto. 

81  Followed  immediately  by  the  rubric:  Completorium. 

” I refer  to  the  fuller  text,  of  1520. 


108 


UNIVERSITY  OF  WISCONSIN  STUDIES 


bier,63  and  that  the  Host  is  carried  by  the  Officiant.  The  pro- 
cessional piece  is  the  responsory  Ecce  quomodo.  The  Host  and 
the  bier  bearing  the  Crucifix  are  placed  upon  the  altar  in  the 
Chapel  of  Simon  and  Jude,  where  the  sepulchnim  is  arranged. 
After  the  sprinkling  and  the  censing  of  the  pheretrum , the  seven 
penitential  psalms  are  said,64  followed  by  a versicle  and  a 
collect.  The  procession  returns  to  the  choir  with  the  singing  of 
the  responsory  Sepulto  Domino. 

The  Elevatio  from  Meissen  is  as  follows: 

<ELEVATIO  CRUCIS  ET  HOSTI/E  > 65 
In  nocte  Pasche  ante  pulsum  Matutinarm/w  circa  horaw  uNdecimaw 

AD  LEV ATIONEm  CRUCIS  FIAT  COttUEWTUS  IN  CHORO,  ET  OWnES  PERSONE  ACCIPI- 
U«T  LTTMINA  ARDEWTIA  IN  MANUS.  Et  TRES  CANONICI  MAIORES  CAPPIS  RUBEIS 
SERICEIS  INDUTI,  SEQUENTE  EOS  CONUENTU,  EXEUNT  PROCESSIONALITER 
CHORUm  PER  IANUAS  DomiNORUm  PREPOSITI  ET  DECANI  CUM  VEXILLIS,  THURI- 
BULIS,  ET  CANDELIS  AD  SEPULCHRUW  CU PI  SEPTEm  PSALMIS  QUI  IN  CHORO  INCEPI- 
UNTttf  sine  Gloria  patri.  Quibus  dictis,  Dicm/r  Alleluia.  Et  tuwc  PreDiCTi 
maiores  Canonici  thurificewt  Crucem  et  leuant  cantawdo  submissa  voce 
cum  choro  : 

Resurrexi. 

Duo  RECIPIUWT  ImAGINEW  ReSURRECTIOWIS  ET  MAIOR  SACRAMENTUrn,  ET 
OmnES  REDEANT  AD  CHORUm.  IMAGINE  AD  MEDIUm  SUMMI  ALTARIS  LOCATA 

et  Sacramento  in  summo  altari  posito  cantet ur  an tiphona: 

Cum  rex  glorie,  submissa  voce. 

Qua  finita,  Decanus  aut  Prepositus  dicat  \~ERsum: 

In  resurrectione  tua,  Christe,  alleluia, 
choro  respowdente: 

Celum  et  terra  letentttr,  alleluia. 

CoUecta: 

Presta,  quesmus,  omnipotent  Deus,  ut  in  resurrectiowe. 

Postea  Canonici  oscuLENTwr  Imagine m et  offereht,  et  detur  Pax  cir- 

CUMSTANTIBZ^.  DATA  PACE,  QUILIBET  DICAT  ALTERI : 

Surrexit  Dominns  vere,  alleluia. 


63  The  fact  that  the  bier  ( pheretrum ) supports  the  Crucifix  is  made  clearer 
in  the  rubrics  of  the  Elevatio,  printed  below.  In  the  Depositio  and  Elevatio 
together  the  Crucifix  seems  to  be  designated  by  a variety  of  words:  corpus, 
crux,  imago.  The  Host  is  uniformly  called  sacr amentum.  The  expression 
Imago  resurreclionis  puzzles  me.  It  may  indicate  a special  object,  or  it  may — 
inappropriately,  it  would  seem — refer  to  the  Crucifix,  or  to  the  Corpus  upon  the 
Crucifix.  See  above,  p.  81,  note  38. 

64  The  use  of  these  psalms  allies  the  Depositio,  once  more,  to  such  forms  of 
the  Adoratio  as  that  seen  in  St.  Athelwold’s  Concordio  Regidaris.  See  above,  pp. 
20-22. 

66  Breuiarius  . . . Misnensis  Ecclesie  . . . , Meissen,  1520,  sig.  F 4 verso. 


YOUNG — THE  EASTER  SEPULCHRE 


109 


Ex  ille  respondeat: 

Et  apparuit  Petro,  alle/wfa. 

Tunc  Cantor  vel  unus  Daw/noruw  incipiat  alte: 

Christ  ist  enstanden. 

Tunc  CAMPANATOR  ACCEDAT  et  LUMINA  ACCIPIAT,  ET  AD  LOCA  DESTINATA  AP- 
PONAT;  lBIQUe  QMAWDIU  DUREWT,  ARDEANT.  Hus  PERACTIS  PULSENTttr  CAM- 
PANE.66 

This  procession  to  the  sepulchrum , before  Matins,  begins 
with  the  saying  of  seven  psalms.  After  the  censing  of  the 
Crucifix,  it  is  taken  up  from  the  sepulchrum  while  the  Introit 
Resurrexi 67  is  being  rendered.  During  the  singing  of  the 
antiphon  Cum  rex  glorice  the  Imago  Resurrectionist  and  the 
Host  are  carried  separately  to  the  choir  and  placed  upon  the 
altar.  After  a versicle  and  a response,  a collect  is  said,  the 
Imago  Resurrectionis  is  kissed,  and  the  Pax  is  administered. 
The  office  closes  appropriately  with  the  singing  of  the  vernacu- 
lar Christ  ist  entstanden.t 

Although  clearly  belonging  in  the  succession  of  texts  now 
under  examination,  the  following  Depositio  and  Elevatio  from 
Regensburg  present  unusual  aspects:70 

< DEPOSITIO  CRUCIS  ET  HOSTLE>71 

DlCTIS  VeSP£TIS  SAC6TDOTES  QUI  INDUTI  CASULW  AD  ALTA/E  Mim'STraBAWT 
ACCIPIUWT  CrUCEW  UT  EA M PreCEDEWTIBMS  EOS  MlmSTnS  CUW  CtffEIS  et  THU7T- 

bulo  collocewt  in  Sepulchrmw.  P ost  hos  seQ uitur  Dowznws  Abbas  defcpens 
Cor  pus  Domimcum  in  APerro.  Hos  SeQ  uitur  co«uentzw  cawtans  r espon- 
soriutn: 

Ecce  quomodo  moritwr,  cum  versu. 

Responsorium: 

Recessit  pastor,  cum  versu. 


66  Followed  immediately  by  Matins. 

67  See  above,  p.  35. 

68  The  precise  meaning  of  the  term  Imago  Resurrectionis  I do  not  know;  nor 
am  I certain  as  to  the  relation  of  the  object  signified  to  the  Imago  Crucifixif 
discussed  above.  See  p.  81. 

69  See  Lange,  pp.  99-129.  Erstanden  is,  of  course,  the  usual  reading. 

70  Munich,  Hofbibliothek,  Cod.  lat.  14183,  Ordinarium  Monasterii  Sancti 
Emmeranni  Ratisbonensis  saec.  xv,  fol.  47v-48r,  50v.  The  Depositio  and 
Elevatio  are  now  published  for  the  first  time.  The  important  Visitatio  from  this 
manuscript  has  been  published  by  N.  C.  Brooks,  in  Zeitschrift  fiir  deutsches  Alter- 
tum , L,  300-302.  It  will  be  observed  that  the  texts  now  printed  differ  substan- 
tially from  those  printed  above  (pp.  88-89)  from  the  Regensburg  Ordinarium 
in  Munich  MS  26947. 

71  Munich,  Cod.  lat.  14183,  fol.  48r-48v. 


110 


UNIVERSITY  OF  WISCONSIN  STUDIES 


A ntiphona : 

Joseph  ab  Arimathia. 

iNTeriM  Dowmnms  Abbas  el  SACerDOTES  locavermwt  CrucEw  et  Cor  pus  Domini 
super  Sepulchrww,  et  tpsuu  opotehtes  lintheo  iwcensawt,  et  cawtawt 
r esponsorium: 

Sepulto  Domino. 

Finito  Responsorio  Dovtinus  Abbas,  niclo  Pater  Naster,  vicaT  versum: 

Tu  au  tew,  Do  wine,  miserere  mei. 

ORate’o: 

De«$,  qui  filiuw  tuuw  unigenituw. 

Tu»c  Dowznms  Abbos  CLAM<fol.  48v>sub  casulaw  accipit  Cor  pus  Domim, 
et  precEDEwxiBws  euw  cerEis  PorTAT  ipsuu  in  SAcraRiuw  more  solito  RESer- 
vanduw.  DEiNtte  EXxraHwwT  se  Mdmstri  et  ipsi  et  ConUENT us  induumt 
calceos  et  preparANT  se  ad  ReFECTioneM.  Pulsataqmc  tabula,  ueniumt  ad 
REFECTORIUW. 

< ELE V ATIO  CRUCIS>72 

In  sanctA  nocte  an te  pulsatas  Matutinas,  Dowjnms  .Abb as  et  seniores 

VENIUMT  AD  SEPULCHRMW  CUW  CAWDELIS  et  inCENSO  et  ASPerSOKIO  SUBMISSA 

voce  dicewtes  psaltnum: 

Dowine,  probasti  me,  totum. 

SeQ  uitur  Pater  n os  ter.  Versus: 

In  resurrectione  tua,  'K.piste,  alleluia.. 

Or  atio: 

Dews,  qui  hodierna  die  per  unigenituw  tuum  ctermtatis. 

Tunc  DowiNws  Abbos  TiiuriFiCAT  CrucEw  et  ASPerGix.  Tollens  CrucEw 
super  HUMeruw  suuw  Cantor  submissa  uoce  incipit: 

Cum  rex  giorie. 

Quo  finito  s eQuitur: 

Alleluia,  surrexit  pastor  bonus. 

Et  sic  ciRCUwEunT  totuw  ambituw.  Et  intra«tibm5  choruw  DowiNns 
ABBaS  ASSIGNAT  CRUCEW  ECCtestASTICO  AD  AMBONEW,  Qui  EAW  CUW  HONOrE 
DEBITO  LOCABIT  AD  LOCUW  SUUW.  POST  HEC  DATttf  SIGNUW  AD  PULSANDAS 

Matutinas. 

The  ordo  for  the  Depositio  provides  that  after  Vespers  both 
the' Cross  and  the  Host  be  carried  in  the  procession  and  placed 
upon  the  sepulchrutn.  The  sepulchrum  is  now  covered  with  a 
cloth73  and  censed.  At  the  close  of  the  office,  after  saying  the 
Pater  Noster  and  a collect,  the  abbot  privately  carries  the  Host 
from  the  sepulchrum  to  the  sacristy,  where  it  is  reserved  with 
accustomed  reverence.  In  so  far  as  the  present  study  is  con- 


72  Id.,  fol.  50v. 

7a  I construe  the  Latin  to  mean  that  both  the  sepulchrum  and  the  objects 
upon  it  are  thus  covered. 


YOUNG — THE  EASTER  SEPULCHRE 


111 


cerned,  this  prompt  removal  of  the  Host  from  beside  the  Cross 
is  unique.74 

Since  the  Host  has  already  been  taken  away  from  the  place 
of  burial,  the  Elevatio,  before  Easter  Matins,  is  concerned  with 
the  Cross  alone.  The  abbot  and  seniores  go  in  procession  to 
the  sepulchrum  rendering  the  psalm  Domine,  probasti.  After 
saying  the  Pater  noster  and  a collect,  the  abbot  censes  and 
sprinkles  the  Cross,  and  then  carries  it  on  its  way  toward  the 
assigned  place,  the  choir  singing  Cum  rex  glorice. 

Although  the  group  of  texts  that  we  have  been  examining 
contains  several  versions  of  the  Elevatio  in  which  appears  the 
Descensus  theme  ( Cum  rex  glorice ),  in  none  of  these  versions 
is  the  theme  developed  dramatically.  We  may  appropriately 
pass,  then,  to  the  evidences  that  this  development  did  occur. 
Such  evidence  appears,  for  example,  in  the  following  version  of 
the  Elevatio  from  the  cathedral  of  Hereford:75 

< ELEVATIO  CRUCIS  ET  HOSTLE>76 
Post  mediam  noctem  ante  Matutinas  et  ante  campanarum  pulsationem 

CONUENIANT  OMNES  CLERICI  IN  CAPITULUM;  ET  IBI  ORDINATA  PROCESSIONE 

PRECEDANT  ceroferarii  et  thuribularii  cum  Cruce,  Episcopo  et  Decano 
IN  ALBIS  REUESTITIS,  DICTIS  EPISCOPO  ET  DECANO  ET  OMNIBUS  ALUS  CANONICIS 
CEREOS  EXTINCTOS  IN  MANIBUS  GESTANTIBUS,  OMNIBUSQUE  LUMINARIBUS 
ECCLESIE  PRETER  CEREUM  PASCHALEM  ET  PRETER  CEREUM  INFRA  SEPULCRUM 
EXTINCTIS;  INCIPIT  CANTOR  ANTIPHON  AM: 

Cum  Rex  glorie, 

SUBMISSA  VOCE,  UT  MAGIS  LAMENT ATIONEM  ET  SUSPIRIA  REPRESENTET  QUAM 
CANTLfM,  ET  SIC  PROGREDIANTUR  ANTE  SEPULCRUM.  FlNITA  ANTIPHON  A, 

Episcopus  et  Decanus  accedant  ad  ostium  Sepulchri;  Episcopus  HUMILI 
VOCE  ANTIPHON  am: 

Elevamini, 

FINE  TENUS  CANTET.  CHORUS  RESPONDEAT: 

Quis  est  iste  rex  glorie?  Dominus  virtutum,  ipse  est  rex  glorie. 
Episcopus  vel  executor  officii  paulo  altius  cantet  antiphon  am: 
Elevamini,  ut  supra. 

Chorus  similiter: 

Quis  est  iste  rex  glorie?  Dominus  fortis  et  potens,  dominus  potens  in 
prelio. 


74 1 mean  unique,  of  course,  in  so  far  as  explicitness  of  rubric  is  concerned. 
This  practice  may  have  been  followed  in  other  versions  whose  rubrics  are 
laconic. 

76  The  Hereford  Breviary  ( Henry  Bradshaw  Society,  Vol.  XXVI,  London, 
1904,  ed.  by  W.  H.  Frere  and  L.  E.  G.  Brown),  pp.  324-325,  from  the  Rouen 
edition  of  1505.  This  breviary  contains  no  Depositio  or  Visitatio. 

76  Henry  Bradshaw  Society , Vol.  XXVI,  pp.  324-325. 


112 


UNIVERSITY  OF  WISCONSIN  STUDIES 


Episcopus  tercio  altius  cantet: 

Elevamini,  ut  supra. 

Chorus  similiter: 

Quis  est  iste  rex  glorie?  Dominus  virtutum,  ut  supra. 

Tunc  aperto  Sepulchro,  Epyscopus  vel  executor  offich  ingrediatur 
Sepulchrum,  et  ablato  amictu  Crucem  et  Sacr amentum  thurificet;  inde 

CEREUM  QUEM  TENET  ACCENDAT  A CEREO  INFRA  SEPULCHRUM,  EX  QUO  OMNES 
ALII  CEREI  ACCENDANTUR.  POSTEA  EPYSCOPUS  VEL  EXECUTOR  OFFICII  ELEUANS 

Crucem  et  Sacramentum  coniunctim  de  Sepulchro  incipiat  antiphon  am: 

Domine,  abstraxisti, 

ET  FINE  TENUS  CANTET.  CHORUS  PSALMUM: 

Exaltabo  te,  Domine, 

prosequatur;  et  in  fine  post  unumquemqUe  versum  psalmi  fiat  repetitio 
antiphone,  scilicet:  Domine,  abstraxisti,  quousque  sancta  Crux  ab 
Epyscopo  vel  executore  officii  super  altare  offeratur,  et  quousque 

VEXILUM  SANCTE  CRUCIS  APPOSITUM  FUERITJ  ET  VEXILO  APPOSITO  EPYSCOPUS 
VEL  EXECUTOR  OFFICH  INCIPIAT  HUNC  VERSUM: 

Consurgit  Christus  tumulo, 

choro  prosequente: 

Victor  redit  de  baratro. 

Deinde  Episcopus  vel  executor  offich: 

Quesumus,  auctor  omnium, 

chorus: 

In  hoc  paschali  gaudio. 

Epyscopus  vel  executor  officii: 

Gloria  tibi,  Domine. 

HlC  OMNES  GENUFLECTANT,  ET  PULSENTUR  OMNIA  SIGNA,  CHORO  PROSEQUENTE: 

Qui  surrexisti  a mortuis. 

Tunc  Epyscopus  alta  voce  incipiat  antiphon  am: 

Surrexit  Dominus  de  sepulchro  qui  pro  nobis  pependit  in  ligno,  alleluya, 
alleluya,  alleluya. 

Epyscopus  vel  executor  officii  dicat  versiculum: 

Dicite  in  nationibus. 

R esponsio: 

Quia  Dominus  regnauit  in  ligno,  alleluya. 

Or  atio  : 

Deus,  qui  pro  nobis  . . . famulis  tuis,  ut  resurrectionis  eius  gratiam 
consequamur. 

Que  terminetur  sic: 

Per  eundem  Cristum  Dominum  nostrum. 

Chorus  respondeat: 

Amen. 

Nec  precedat  nec  sequatur  Dominus  vobiscum,  nec  Benedicamus  Domino. 
Tunc  accendantur  duo  cerei,  et  ponantur  a dextris  et  a sinistris  Crucis; 

NON  AMOUEANTUR  USQUE  AD  PROCESSIONEM.  SEPULCRUM  VERO  STET  OSTIO 
APERTO  VACUUM  USQUE  POST  VESPERAS  HAC  DIE  IN  TESTIMONIUM  RESURREC- 
TIONIS.  POSTEA  REDEANT  IN  CAPITULUM  EODEM  ORDINE  QUO  VENERUNT. 

Epyscopus  vero  hac  die  post  debitam  campanarum  pulsationem  assumptis 

PONTIFICIBUS  ASCENDAT  AD  SEDEM  SUUM,  ET  IBI  INCIPIAT  MATUTINAS  HOC  MODO. 


YOUNG — THE  EASTER  SEPULCHRE 


113 


The  Hereford  use  provides  that  after  midnight  the  whole 
conventus  shall  pass  from  the  chapter-house  to  the  sepulchrum 
in  the  church,  the  place  being  lighted  only  by  the  Easter  candle 
and  the  candle  at  the  door  of  the  sepulchre.  During  the  pro- 
cession is  sung  lugubriously  the  familiar  antiphon  Cum  rex 
glorice.  At  the  door  of  the  sepulchrum  the  bishop  sings  the 
antiphon  Elevamini , to  which  the  chorus  responds  Quis  est 
isle  rex  glorice?  This  challenge  and  response  are  delivered  three 
times,  each  time  in  a higher  tone.  The  bishop  now  enters  the 
sepulchrum , censes  the  Cross  and  Host,  and  from  the  sepulchre- 
candle  lights  his  own  candle  and  that  in  the  hand  of  each  cleric 
in  the  procession.  He  next  takes  up  from  the  sepulchrum  both 
Cross  and  Host,  and  proceeds  with  the  Cross  to  the  altar.77 
The  raising  of  the  Cross  and  Host  is  accompanied  by  the  singing 
of  the  psalm  Exalt abo  and  its  antiphon  Domine  abstraxisti. 
After  a banner  ( vexillum ) has  been  attached  to  the  Cross,  appro- 
priate persons  deliver  several  versicles  and  responses,  an 
antiphon,  and  a prayer;  and  leaving  a light  on  either  side  of  the 
Cross,  the  procession  returns  to  the  chapter-house.  In  com- 
memoration of  the  Resurrection  the  door  of  the  sepulchrum  is 
left  open  throughout  the  day. 

Although  it  will  be  readily  admitted  that  in  this  version  of 
the  Elevatio  the  theme  of  the  Descensus  advances  to  the  stage 
of  dramatic  dialogue,  it  will  be  observed  both  that  the  advance 
stops  short  of  impersonation,  and  that  it  results  in  certain 
improprieties  in  detail.  The  use  of  the  sepulchre  itself  as  a 
limbus  involves  an  obvious  jostling  of  concepts,  and  the  utter- 
ance of  the  choir,  in  that  it  includes  both  interrogation  ( Quis 
est?)  and  reply  (Dominus  virtutum ),  ignores  dramatic  con- 
sistency. 

That  improprieties  of  this  sort  were  perceived  and  removed 
is  clear  from  other  versions  of  the  Elevatio , such  as  that  used 
at  the  cathedral  of  Bamberg.  In  the  case  of  this  church, 
however,  we  are  fortunate  in  possessing  the  text  not  only  of 
the  Elevatio , but  also  of  all  the  other  offices  and  ceremonials 
associated  with  the  sepulchrum .78  The  reservation  of  a par- 

77  The  disposal  of  the  Host  is  not  elucidated. 

78  Agenda  B amber gensia  . . . , Ingolstadii,  1587  (Munich,  Hofbibliothek) , 
Part  II,  pp.  489-490,  522-527,  585-597,  597-604.  The  Depositio  is  now  re- 
printed for  the  first  time.  The  Elevatio  and  Visitatio  have  been  reprinted 


114 


UNIVERSITY  OF  WISCONSIN  STUDIES 


ticular  Host  for  use  at  the  sepulchre,  for  example,  is  provided 
for  in  the  following  rubric  from  Holy  Thursday: 

Quoniam  Ecclesia  Catholica  in  die  sancto  Parasceves  Corpus  Christi 
consecrare  non  solet,  idcirco  Parochus  sub  sacro  hodiemo  duas  Hostias  maiores 
consecret,  quarum  unam  in  Missa  sumat,  alteram  vero  in  sequentem  diem 
sumendam  servet;  eamqwe  corporali  involutam,  peracto  sacro,  reverenter, 
praecedente  lumine,  et  campanula  tinniente,  portet;  atque  recondat  eo  in  loco, 
ubi  aliae  Hostiae  consecratae  asservari  consueverunt.  In  Ecclesiis  porro 
maioribus,  Tertia  quoque  Hostia  magna  consecretur,  quae  postridie  in  Sepul- 
chrum  Domini  posita,  ibidew  a populo  Christiano  usque  ad  tempus  Dominicae 
resurrectionis  adorari  queat.  Et  haec  quoque  Hostia  cum  praedicta  coniugatur 
et  asservetur.79 

In  this  rubric  we  are  given  the  special  information  that  the 
Host  for  the  Depositio  was  of  large  size,  and  that  it  was  to  be 
exposed  for  general  adoration  from  Friday  until  Easter. 

The  Depositio  is  ordered  as  follows: 

< DEPOSITIO  CRUCIS  ET  HOSTLT:>80 

POSTEA81  REDEAT  AD  ALTARE,  ET  ACCIPIAT  HOSTIAM  MAGNAM  CONSECRATAM, 
UNA  CUM  PARVA  CRUCE,  IBI  RELICTAM,  EAMQUE  AD  SEPULCHRUM  PORTET,  ITE- 


by  Lange  in  Zeitschrift  fur  deutsches  Allertum , Vol.  XXIX  (1885),  pp.  247- 
251,  and  the  Visitatio  alone  is  reprinted  again  by  Lange  in  Die  lateinischen 
Osterfeiern,  No.  141,  pp.  12,  93-95.  Because  of  their  general  resemblances 
to  the  texts  from  Bamberg,  we  may  appropriately  mention  here  the  versions 
from  Mainz,  Wurzburg,  and  Augsburg.  The  Depositio  and  Elevalio  from 
Mainz  are  published  by  the  present  writer  in  Transactions  of  the  Wisconsin 
Academy  of  Sciences , Arts,  and  Letters,  XVI,  Part  II,  914-915.  The  Depositio 
and  Elevalio  from  Wurzburg  are  reprinted  from  a service-book  of  the  year  1564 
by  G.  Milchsack,  Die  lateinischen  Osterfeiern,  Wolfenbuettel,  1880,  pp.  134-135. 
The  sepulchrum  offices  of  Augsburg  are  accessible  in  several  prints.  From 
Obsequialis  secundum  diocesis  Augustensis  inorem,  1487,  Milchsack  (pp.  127— 
129)  reprints  the  Depositio,  Elevatio,  and  Visitatio.  From  Ritus  Ecclesiastici 
Augustensis  Episcopatus,  Dilingae,  1580,  Milchsack  (pp.  131-132)  and  Lange 
(No.  170,  pp.  108-110)  have  reprinted  the  Visitatio.  The  Elevatio  (pp.  582-593) 
has,  I believe,  not  been  reprinted.  The  Depositio  referred  to  in  a rubric  (p.  517) 
may  be  supplied  from  Missale  . . . Augustensis  Ecclesie.  Dilingae,  1555,  fol. 
114v  (British  Museum),  not  yet  reprinted.  In  Obsequiale  . . . secundum 
ccclesiam  Augustensem,  [Augsburg,  1499]  (British  Museum)  are  found  a Depositio 
(fol.  xvr-xvv),  an  Elevatio  (fol.  xxxv-xxxiiv),  and  a Visitatio  (fol.  xxxiiv-xxxiiiiv) , 
none  of  which  has,  I believe,  been  reprinted. 

79  Agenda  Bambergensia,  Ingolstadii,  1587,  pp.  489-490. 

80J</.,  pp.  522-527. 

81  Preceded  immediately  by  the  Communion  of  the  Missa  Prcesancti&ca- 


iorum. 


YOUNG — THE  EASTER  SEPULCHRE 


115 


RUM  PRAECEDENTE  LUMINE,  ET  SONANTE  TABULA.  SACERDOTEM  IMMEDIATE 
SEQUATUR  CHORUS  CANTANS  LUGUBRI  VOCE  RESPONSORIUM:<p.  523  > 

Ecce  quomodo  moritur  iustus,  et  nemo  percipit  corde;  viri  iusti  tolluntur, 
et  nemo  considerat;  a facie  iniquitatis  sublatus  est  iu<p.  524>tus.  Et 
erit  in  pace  memoria  eius. 

Versus:  In  pace  factus  est  locus  eius,  et  in  Syon  habitatio  eius.  Et 
erit,  etc. 

Cum  ad  Sepulchrum  pervenerit  Sacerdos,  Corpus  Christi  una  cum 
Sancta  Cruce  reverenter  deponat  in  Sepulchrum,  factaque  thuri- 
FACTIONE,  AC  LUSTRALIS  A<P.  525  > QUAE  ASPERSIONE,  CLAUD  AT,  ET  SERA 
diligenter  muniat  Sepulchrum,  ne  Christi  Corpus,  per  impios  aut  haere- 

TICOS  VEL  lUDAEOS  INDE  AUFERRI,  VEL  ALIA  QUEUIS  CONTAMINATIO  FIERI  QUEAT. 

Deinde  sequens  cantetur  responsorium: 

Sepulto  Domino,  signatum  est  monumentum,  voluentes  lapidem  ad 
ostium  monumenti.  Ponentes  mi<p.  526>lites  qui  custodirent  illud. 
Versus:  Ne  forte  veniant  discipuli  eius,  et  furentur  eum,  et  dicant  plebi: 
Surrexit  a mortuis.  Ponentes,  etc.<p.  527 > 

Postea  Sacerdos  cum  Ministris,  vel  choro  flexis  genibus,  legat  clara 
voce  Vesperas,  secundum  ritum  in  Breviario  descriptum.  Curent 

POSTREMO  PAROCHI  UT  IN  HONOREM  VENERABILIS  SACRAMENTI  SINT  ET  MANEANT 

continue  ad  Sepulchruw  cerei  ardentes;  et  Psalterium  quoque  per 

PUEROS  VEL  ALIOS  LUGUBRI  LENTAQUE  VOCE  LEGATUR  USQUE  AD  HORAM  ReSUR- 

rectionis.  Sub  divinis  tamen  lectio  Psalmorum  debet  omitti. 

This  ordo  provides  that  immediately  after  the  Missa  Prce- 
sanctificatorum  the  Host  and  a small  cross  ( parva  crux)82  are 
carried  in  procession  to  the  sepulchrum  83  After  both  objects 
have  been  placed  within  the  sepulchre,  and  have  been  censed 
and  sprinkled,  particular  care  is  taken  to  lock  the  door  against 
intrusion.  The  entire  action  is  accompanied  by  familiar  litur- 
gical chants.  Lights  are  kept  at  the  sepulchrum  until  Easter, 
and  during  this  period  those  who  guard  the  place  sing  psalms. 

The  Elevatio  contains  an  ample  treatment  of  the  theme  of 
the  Descensus: 


82  It  appears  that  this  cross  is  to  be  distinguished  from  the  larger  cross  used 
in  the  Adoratio  of  Good  Friday.  See  the  text  of  the  Elevatio  below. 

83  Concerning  the  general  arrangement  of  the  sepulchrum  we  have  the 
following  rubric  ( Agenda  B amber  gense,  p.  495):  Alius  quoque  deligatur  locus 
pro  Sepulchro  Domini  erigendo,  qui  inter  caetera  contineat  unam  arcam,  vel 
quid  simile,  quod  claudi  et  obserari,  atque  in  eo  venerabile  Sacramentum  reponi, 
tutoque  relinqui  possit,  usque  ad  tempus  et  horam  Dominicae  resurrectionis. 


116 


UNIVERSITY  OF  WISCONSIN  STUDIES 


<ELEVATIO  CRUCIS  ET  HOSTLE>84 

Ordo  Celebrandi  Commemorationem  Dominicae  Resurrectionis  in  Sancta 
Nocte. 

Et  haec  quoque  Dominicae  Resurrectionis  commemoratio  celebriori- 
BUS  SERVIT  ECCI.ESIIS.  Unde  aliarum  ecclesiarum,  ut  pote  minorum  et 
RURALIUM  ReCTORES  ET  PAROCHI,  EX  ORDINE  HIC  DESCRIPTO,  ALIQUID  SALTEM 
DESUMERE  POSSUWT,  QUOD  PRO  LOCI  ET  PERSONARUM  ILLIC  CONVENIENTIUM 
QUALITATE  COMMODUM  FORE  IUDICAVERINT. 

Ubi  igitur  Corpus  Domini  in  die  Parasceves  Sepulchro  impositum, 

INDE  ELEVANDUM  EST,  SEQUENS  SERVETUR  MODUS.  <P.  586  > ClRCA  HORAM 
NOCTIS  HUIUS  SACRAE  UNDECIMAW  POPULUS  CHRISTIANUS  AD  SEPULCHRUM 

Domini  conveniat,  Sacerdos  vero  superpelliceo,  stola,  et  pluuiali,  seu 

CAPPA,  UT  VOCANT,  CHORALI INDUTUS,  E SACRARIO  PRODEAT,  VERSUSQUE  SEPUL- 
CHRUW  LENTO  GRADU  PERGAT,  PRAECEDENTIBUS  LPSUM  DUOBUS  CEROFERARIIS, 
UNOQttC  ET  ALTERO  CLERICO  SIMILITER  SUPERPELLICEATO  SEQUENTE.  Ad 
SEPULCHRUM  UBI  PERVENERINT,  IN  GENUA  PROCUMBANT,  SICQUE  CORAM  VEN- 
ERABILI  SACRAMEWTO  SEQUENTES  DUOS  PSALMOS,  FLEXIS  GENIBUS,  DEUOTE 

recitent: 

Psalmus  iii.  Domine,  quid  multiplicati85  . . <p.  587 > super  populum 
tuum  benedictio  tua.  Gloria  Patri  et  Filio  et  Spiritui  Sancto.  Sicut  erat 
in  principio,  etc. 

Psalmus  cxxxviii.  Domine,  probasti85  . . <p.  590 >et  deduc  me  in  via 
aeterna.  Gloria  Patri  et  Filio  et  Spiritui  Sancto.  Sicut  erat  in  principio, 
et  nunc  et  semper,  et  in  secula  seculorum,  Amen. 

Kyrie  eleison.  Christe  eleison.  Kyrie  eleison. 

Pater  noster,  etc.  Et  ne  nos  inducas  in  tentationem.  Sed  libera,  etc. 
Versus:  In  resurrectione  tua,  Christe,  alleluia. 

R esponsum:  Coelum  et  terra  laetentur,  alleluia.  <p.  591  > 

Oremus: 

Gregem  tuum,  Pastor  bone,  placatus  intende,  et  oves,  quas  pretioso 
sanguine  redemisti,  diabolica  non  sinas  incursione  lacerari.  Qui  cum 
Deo  Patre  in  unitate  Spiritus  Sancti  vivis  ac  regnas  Deus,  per  omnia 
secula  seculorum. 
ftesponsum:  Amen. 

His  dictis,  aperiatur  Sepulchrum,  fiatque  thurificatio  et  aquae  bene- 

DICTAE  ASPERSIO  SUPER  VENERABILE  SACRAMENTUM,  ET  PARVAM  CRUCIFIXI 

Imaginem,  quae  utraque  deinde  Sacerdos  reverenter  in  manus  capiat, 

VERSUSQtte  AD  POPULUM  SEQUENTFM  ANTIPHONAM  TRIBUS  VICIBUS,  VOCE  SEMPER 
ALTIUS  ELEVATA,  INCEPIAT,  AC  RELIQUUM  CHORUS  PROSEQUATUR: 

Surrexit  Dominus  de  sepulchro. 

Chorus: 

Qui  pro  nobis  pependit  in  ligno,  alleluia. 

POSTEA  INSTITUATUR  PROCESSIO,  VEL  PER  COEMITERIUM,  VEL  (si  TUTUM  NON 
VIDEBITUR)  PER  TEMPLI  AMBITUM,  HOC  modo:  Primo  PRAECEDANT  DUO  CERO- 


84  Agenda  Bambergense,  Ingolstadii,  1587,  pp.  585-597. 

85  In  the  print  these  psalms  are  given  in  full. 


YOUNG — THE  EASTER  SEPULCHRE 


117 


FERARII  PRAEDICTI,  QUOS  IMMEDIATE  SEQUANTUR  DUO  SACERDOTES,  VEL  CLERICI, 
PORTANTES  EAM  CRUCIFIXI  IMAGINEM  MAGNAM.  QUAM  CASULA  COOPERTAM,  IN 

DIE  Parasceves  gestaverunt  duo  Sacerdotes.  Deinde  subsequatur 
Sacerdos  cum  venerabili  Sacramento  et  Sancta  Cruce,  quae  utraque 
paulo  ante  ex  Sepulchro  levavit;  Chorus  vero  cantet  antiphon  am: 

Cum  rex  gloriae  Christus  infernum  debellaturus  intraret,  et  chorus 
angelicus  ante  faciem  eius  portas  principum  tolli  praeciperet,  sanctorum 
populus,  qui  tenebatur  in  morte  captivus,  voce  lacrymabili  clamaverat: 
Advenisti  desiderabilis  quern  expectabamus  in  tenebris,  ut  educeres  hac 
nocte  vinculatos  de  claustris;  te  nostra  vocabant  suspiria,  te  larga  require- 
bant  lamenta,  tu  factus  es  spes  desperatis,  magna  consolatio  in  tormentis, 
alleluia. 

Ubi  ad  primam  vel  proximam  templi  ianuam  ventum  fuerit,  duo  Sacer- 
dotes PRAEDICTI  CUM  STIPITE  CRUCI<P.  593>FIXI  TRIBUS  VICIBUS  FORTITER 
PERCITIANT  IANUAM,  HUNCQUE  IN  MODUM  INTER  PERCUTIENDUM  CANTENT: 

Tollite  portas  principes  vestras,  et  elevamini  portae  aeternales. 

Chorus  quod  sequitur  canit: 

Et  introibit  Rex  gloriae. 

Sit  deinde  aliquis  in  templo  (si  tamen  extra  templum  processio  fit;  si 

VERO  IN  TEMPLO  INSTITUATUR  PROCESSIO,  SIT  IS  EXTRA  TEMPLUM)  QUI  DlABOLI 
PERSONAM  SIMULANS,  FER<P.  594  >RO,  MALLEO,  AUT  CATHENA,  FORTITER 
QUOQUE  IMPINGAT  IN  IANUAM  EANDEM,  DICATQUE  VEL  CLAMET  ALTA  VOCE: 

Quis  est  iste  Rex  gloriae? 

Mox  CHORUS,  VEL  EO  DEFICIENTE,  SACERDOS  SUBIUNGAT: 

Dominus  fortis  et  potens,  Dominus  potens  in  praelio. 

Post  haec  chorus  in  incoepta,  et  paulo  ante  interrupt  a,  antiphona: 
Cum  Rex  gloria,  etc.  canere  pergat,  totaque  processio,  ordine  praedicto, 

VERSUS  SECUNDAM  TEMPLI  IANUAM  PROGREDIATUR,  APUD  QUAM  OMNIA  FIANT, 
UTI  APUD  PRIMAM.  Et  NOTANDUM  QUOD  HAEC  UTRAQUE  IANUA  MANERE  DEBET 
CLAUSA.  < P.  595  > QUANDO  VERO  AD  ULTIMAM  IANUAM  VENERINT,  FACTIS  IBIDEM 
QUOQUE  nS  QUAE  CIRCA  PRIMAM  INDICAUIMUS,  APERIRI  DEBET  ILL  A.  PER 
QUOD  DESIGNATOR,  VEL  CIRCUMSTANTI  POPULO  AD  OCULUM  REPRAESENTATUR, 

quomodo  Christos  Dominus  post  passionem  suo  ad  inferos  descensu, 

EUM  INFERNI  LOCUM  QUI  PATRUW  LYMBUS  DICITUR  APERUERIT,  VEL  QUOD 
ALIBI  DICITUR,  PORTAS  AEREAS  VEL  VECTES  FERREOS  CONFREGERIT,  SUOSQUE 
CAPTIVOS  INDE  LIBER AVERIT.  DEINDE  CONTINUETUR  ANTIPHONA:  Cum  Rex 

gloriae,  etc.  usque  ad  finem,  pergatque  processio  ad  chorum  templi. 
Sacerdos  vero  gradus  altaris  ascendat,  ibique  versus  populum  con- 

SISTENS,  AC  CHRISTI  CORPUS  ADIIUC  IN  MANIBUS  TENENS,  CANTET  TRIBUS 

vicibus,  voce  semper  altius  elevata:  O vere  digna  hostia,  etc.,  choro 
versum  illum  prosequente.<p.  596> 

O vere  digna  hostia, 

Chorus:  Per  quam  fracta  sunt  tartara, 
redempta  plebs  captivata, 
redit  ad  vitae  praemia. 

Addatur  deinceps  eiusdem  hymni  ultimus  versus,  Sacerdote  incipiente: 
Gloria  tibi,  Domine.  Chorus:  Qui  surrexisti  a mortuis,  cum  Patre  et 
Sancto  Spiritu,  in  sempiterna  secula,  Amen. 


118 


UNIVERSITY  OF  WISCONSIN  STUDIES 


Sub  hoc  ultimo  versu,  Sacerdos,  facto  signo  crucis  super  populum  cum 
VEXER  ABILI  < P.  597  > SACRAMENTO,  PORTET  ELLUD  AD  SUUM  LOCUM  IN  QUO 
CONSERUARI  SOLET;  CHORUS  YERO  IXCIPUT: 

Victimae  paschali  laudes,  etc. 

Et  POST  QUErnLLBET  YERSUM,  EN'SERAT  UNUM  TANTUM  PASCHALEM  GERMANICUM, 
QUEM  POPULUS  QUOQU€  CELEBRITER  DECANTETJ  SITQUE  PRIMUS: 

Christ  ist  erstanden,  etc. 

Hos  CANTUS  INVENTES  IN  FINE  HUIUS  LIBRI.  POST  HAEC  INCEPIAXTUR  M.\TU- 
TTNAE. 

According  to  this  version,  a general  congregation  is  allowed 
to  gather  at  the  sepulchrum,  where  they  are  joined  by  a proces- 
sion of  clerics  from  the  sacristy.  After  the  saying  of  two  psalms, 
the  Gloria  Patri , the  Kyrie , the  Pater  Noster,  a versicle,  and  a 
prayer,  the  sepulchrum  is  opened  and  the  Host  and  Cross  are 
censed  and  sprinkled,  and  elevated  into  general  view.  Both 
the  Host  and  Cross  are  then  carried  in  procession  through  the 
cemetery  outside  the  church,  the  chorus  singing  the  antiphon 
Cum  rex  glorice.  When  the  procession  reaches  the  first  door  of 
the  church,  the  two  priests  who  carry  the  Magna  Crux 86  strike 
the  door  three  times  with  the  shaft,  singing  Tollite  portas. 
A person  within  the  church,  representing  Satan,  responds  with 
the  words  Quis  est  iste  rex  glorice?  The  chorus  in  the  procession 
outside  replies  Dominus  fortis.  Since  this  door  remains  closed, 
the  procession  passes  on  and  repeats  the  dialogue  at  a second 
portal.  When  this  door  yields,  the  procession  enters  the  church 
and  advances  to  the  choir.  This  ceremonial  at  the  church- 
doors,  the  rubric  tells  us,  specifically  represents  the  Harrowing 
of  Hell.  Having  entered  the  choir,  the  priest  sings  three  times 
the  verse  0 vere  digna  Hostia.  After  the  Host  has  been  put  in 
its  accustomed  place,87  the  choir  sings  the  sequence  Victimce 
paschali , the  congregation  responding  to  each  sentence  with  a 
verse  of  the  vernacular  hymn  Christ  ist  erstanden . 

Our  consideration  of  the  representations  of  the  Harrowing 
of  Hell  may  appropriately  conclude  with  an  examination  of  the 
fifteenth  century  texts  from  the  monastery  of  Barking,  near 
London,  for  the  Elevatio  from  this  church  shows  a remarkable 
development  of  the  theme  of  the  Descensus.  First,  however, 


88  This  Magna  Crux — apparently  from  the  Adoratio  of  Good  Friday — is  to 
be  distinguished  from  the  parva  crux  placed  in  the  sepulchrum. 

87  This  may  be  the  tabernacle  of  the  main  altar. 


YOUNG — THE  EASTER  SEPULCHRE 


119 


we  must  glance  at  the  following  significant  version  of  the 
Deposition 8 

<DEPOSITIO  CRUCIS>89 

Cum  autew  Sancta  Crux  FueriT  adorata,  SACerooTES  de  loco  predz'c/o 
Crucem  elev antes  inclpiant  a ntiphonam: 

Super  omnia,  ligna, 

et  CHORO  ILLO  SUBSEQUENTE  TOTAM  CONCINANT.  CAnTRICE  INCIPIENTE, 
DEFERANT  CRUCEM  AD  MAGNUm  ALTARE,  IBIQttC  IN  SPECIE  IOSEPH  et  NlCHODEMI, 
DE  LIGNO  DEPONENTES  YmAGINEW  VULNgrA  CRUCIFIXI  UINO  ABLUANT  el  AQUA. 

Dum  autew  hec  fiunt,  concinat  Conuentus  r esponsorium: 

Ecce  quomo^o  moritur  iustus, 

SACERDOTE  INCIPIENTE  et  CANTRICE  RESPONDENTE  et  CONUENTU  SUCCINENTE. 

Post  vuLNeruw  abluczonem  cum  candelabris  et  turribulo  deferant 
ILLAM  AD  SePULCRUW  HAS90  CANENTES  AntiphondS : 

In  pace  in  idipsnm. 

A ntiphona: 

Ha&itabit. 

Antiphona: 

Caro  mea. 

CUMQtte  m PREDic/nM  LOCUM  TAPETUM  PALLEO  AURICnLARI  QllOque  et  LINTHEIS 
NITLDISSIMIS  DECENTER  ORNATUW  ILLAM  CUm  REVERENCIA  LOCAVeriNT,  CLAUDAT 

SACerDos  Sepulcruw  et  incipiat  r esponsorium: 

Sepulto  Domino. 

Et  TUNC  ABBafrSSA  OFFERAT  CEREUM,  QUI  IUGITER  ARDEAT  ANTE  SEPULCRUM, 
NEC  EXTINGUATUR  DONEC  YMAGO  IN  NOCTE  PASCHE  P OSt  MATUT indS  DE  SEPUL- 
CRO  cum  CEREIS  et  THURE  et  PrOCESSIONE  RESUMPTA,  SUO  REPONATUR  IN  LOCO.91 

It  will  be  observed  that  this  office  attaches  itself  directly  to 
the  Adoratio  Crucis;  indeed  the  Depositio  may  be  regarded  as  a 
conclusion  for  it.92  Especially  noteworthy  is  the  detaching  of 
the  Ymago  ( Corpus ) from  the  Cross  and  the  washing  of  the 
vulnera  Crucifixi .93  The  rubric  in  specie  Ioseph  et  Nichodemi 
may  indicate  that  this  action  involves  impersonation;  but  the 

88  Oxford,  University  College  MS  169,  Ordinarium  Berkingense  saec.  xv 
in.,  p.  108.  The  Depositio,  Elevdtio,  and  Visitotio  from  this  manuscript  have  all 
been  published  by  the  present  writer  in  Tronsaclions  of  the  Wisconsin  Acodemy 
of  Sciences,  Arts,  ond  Letters,  XVI,  Part  II,  926-931. 

89  University  College  MS  169,  p.  108. 

90  has]  hac  (MS). 

91  Followed  immediately  by  this  rubric:  Hiis  itaque  gestis,  redeat  Conuen- 
tus in  chorum  et  Sacerdos  in  uestiarium. 

92  See  above,  p.  26. 

93  On  the  possible  meanings  of  the  word  Ymogo  see  above,  p.  81.  The 
washing  of  the  vxdnero  Crucifixi  has  a parallel  in  the  use  of  Rouen.  See  above, 

p.  75. 


120 


UNIVERSITY  OF  WISCONSIN  STUDIES 


indication  is  not  decisive.  The  text  mentions  the  Ymago  alone 
as  the  object  placed  in  the  sepulchrum;  but  from  the  Elevatio 
we  infer  that  the  burial  included  also  the  Host. 

We  may  now  consider  the  Elevatio , for  which  we  have  the 
following  or  do: 


< ELEVATIO  CRUCIS  ET  HOSTILE > 94 

N0/(J  Qliod  SeCHUDUM.  ANTIQ7WM  CONSUETUDINE7W  ECCLCSIASTICAM  ReSUR<R> 
EXIO  DowiNICA  CELEBRATA  FUIT  ANTE  MATUTWMW,  et  ANTE  ALIQ7/aM  CAMPANE 
PULSACiOW EM  IN  DIE  PASCHE.  Et  QUOtlitm  POVUUORUm  CONCURSUS  TEWPORIBttS 
ILLIS  VIDEBATWr  DEUOCtONE  FRIGESSERE,  et  TORPOR  HUM  ANUS  MAXIME  ACCRES- 
cens,  VENerABiLis  Dowz'na  Katcttna  DE  Suttone,  TUNC  PASTORALIS  CURE 
GERENS  VICEM,  DESIDERANS  &iCtute  TORPOREM  PENIT77S  EXSTIRPARE  et  FIDELIUW 
DEU0C70NEM  AD  TAM  CELEB <R> EM  CELEBRAC70NEM  MAGIS  EXCITARE,  UNANIMI 
CONSOROR77W  CONSENSU  INSTITUIT  UT  STATIM  P OSt  III.  RespomoriuVl  MATUTINA- 

R77777  die  Pasche  fieret  Dominice  Resur<r>exionis  celebracio,  et  HOC 

MODO  STATUET77r  PTOCESSIO. 

In  pmiis  eat  Dam'NA  Abbo/issa  cu m toto  Conuentu  et  quibusdam  SAcer- 

DOTIB775  et  CLERICIS  CAPIS  INDUTIS,  QUOLIBET  SACgfDOTE  et  Cl^/TCO  PALMA7W  et 
CANDELA777  EXTINCTA777  MANU  DEFERENTE95  INTREWT  CAPELLA77Z  SatlCtE  MARIE 

Magdalene,  figurantes  awitwas  sanctoRum  patru m an te<p.  120>  adventuw 

Xpistl  AD  INFEROS  DESCENDENTES,  et  CLAUD  ANT  SI  M OSTIU777  DICTE  CAPELLE. 
DeINDE  SUPerVENIENS  SACfTDOS  EBDOwadaRIUS  AD  D7C/AM  CAPELLAM  APPRO- 
PIANS  ALBA  INDUTUS  et  CAPA  CU777  DUOB775  DIACONIS,  UNO  CRUCEM  DEFERENTE 
CU77?  VEXILLO  D07777NICO  DESUP0T  PENDENTE,  ALTerO  CUW  T/<rRIBULO  MANU  SUA 
BAIULANTE,  et  ALnS  SAC<TDOTIB775  et  CLeflCIS  CUM  DUOB775  PU67IS  CffEOS  DE- 
FERENTIBttS  AD  OSTIU777  D7C/E  CAPELLE  INCEPIENS  TER  HaNC  KYlliphonam: 

Tollite  portas. 

QUI  QUIDEM  SACerDOS  REPT0SENTABIT  PefSONAM  Xpistl  AD  IWFEROS  DESCEN- 
SURAM  et  PORTAS  INFERNI  DIRUPTUR A777 , et  PRED7C/A  XTsTiphoUd  UNAQUAQWC 
UICE  IN  ALT70RI  UOCE  INCIPIAT7/r,  QUA7M  CLerlCI  TOCIENS  EANDEM  REPETANT, 
et  AD  Q7«7MQi/aM  INCEPC7077EM  PULSET  CU777  CRUCE  AD  PRED7C/MM  OSTIU777, 
FIGURANS  DIRUPCIONEM  PORTAR77W  INFERNI;  et  TfrCIA  PULSAC70NE  OSTIU777 
APCriAT.  DeINDE  INGREDIAT7/r  ILLE  CUM  MINISTRIS  SUIS.  lNT€fIM  INCIMAT 

quid  am  SAcerDOS  in  capella  existente  xntiphonam: 

A porta  inferi, 

Q770M  SUEINFERAT  CaNTRIX  CUW  TOTO  CONVENTU: 

Erue,  Dotwme,  et  cetera. 

DeINDE  EXTRAHET  SACERDOS  EBDOWflT/aRIUS  OMW0S  ESSENTES  IN  CAPELLA 
pred/c/a,  et  iNTeriM  lncipiat  Saotdos  xntiphonam : 

D amine  abstraxisti, 
et  CaNTRIX  SUBSEQ770T777’." 

Ab  inferis. 


94  University  College  MS  169,  pp.  119-121. 
93  deferente]  deferentem  (MS). 


YOUNG — THE  EASTER  SEPULCHRE 


121 


TUttC  OMWES  EXEANT  DE  CAPELLA,  ID  EST,  DE  LlMBO  PATRUM,  et  CANTENT 
Sac^dotes  et  Ccerici  Anliphonam: 

Cu m rex  GLoriE, 

PrOCESSIONALITcr  Ter  MEDIUW  chori  ad  Sepulcruw  portantes  singuli 
PALMAM  et  CANDELAM,  DESIGNANTES  UICTORIAM  DE  HOSTE  RECUPgfATAM,  SUB- 
SEQUENTIBMS  DomiXA  ABBa/lSSA,  PRIORISSA,  et  TOTO  CONUEMTU  SICUT  SUNT 
PRIORES. 

Et  cu m ad  Sepulcruw  perUENertNT,  SACerDOS<p.  121>EBDOmadaRius 
Sepulcruw  thurificet  et  intret  Sepulcrum  incipiendo  xersum: 

Consurgit. 

Deinde  suBSEQUAT^r  Cantrix: 

Xp istuc  tumulo.96 
Versus: 

Omnis  auctor. 

Versus: 

Gbria  tibi,  Domine. 

Et  mreriM.  asportabit  Corpus  Dowz/nicum  de  Sepulcro  incipiendo  a nli- 
phonam: 

Xpwhis  resurgews, 

CORAM  ALTARI,  V«rSO  UULTU  AD  P0PWLMM,  TENENDO  CORPUS  DflwiNICUM  IN 
MAXIBM5  SUIS  INCLUSUM  CRIST ALLO.  DEINDE  SUBIUNGAT  CANTRIX : 

Ex  mortuis. 

Et  CUM  victA  ANTiphona  FACIANT  ProCESSIONEM  AD  ALTARE  SanctE  Trinitatis 
cum  SOLENNI  APPARATU,  VIDELICET  CUm  TMfRIBULIS  et  cerEis.  Conuentms 
seqmatur  cantando  premet  Ate  Antiphonam  cum  xersu: 

Dicant  nunc, 
et  uersicuEO  :97 

Dicite  in  naaowibws. 

Or  alio: 

Deus  qui  pro  nob«  Filium  tuuw. 

E HEC  ProCESSIO  FIGURATWr  Per  HOC  QMO  Xpistuc  PrtfCEDIT  Post  RESUR  < R > 
XI/ONEM  in  Galileam,  sequentibms  Discipulis.98 

From  the  generous  rubrics  in  this  text  it  appears  that  the 
present  form  of  this  office  is  due  to  the  reform  of  Katherine  of 
Sutton,  Abbess  of  Barking  from  1363  to  1376."  Although  she 
recognizes  the  tradition  of  the  Elevatio  before  Easter  Matins, 
she  undertakes  to  establish  a special  form  of  this  office  for 
observance  at  the  close  of  Matins,  directly  before  the  usual 
Visitatio. 


96  tumulo]  timulo  (MS). 

97  uersiculo]  uer siculus  (MS). 

98  Immediately  followed  by  a version  of  the  Visitatio  Sepulchri. 

99  See  W.  Dugdale,  Monasticon  Anglicanum,  Vol.  I,  London,  1S46,  p.  437. 


122 


UNIVERSITY  OF  WISCONSIN  STUDIES 


The  Elevatio  divides  itself  naturally  into  two  parts : a repre- 
sentation of  the  Descensus,  and  a raising  of  the  Host  from  the 
sepulchrum.  The  representation  of  the  Descensus  occurs 
neither  at  the  sepulchrum  nor  at  the  church  doors,  but,  very 
appropriately,  at  the  chapel  of  St.  Mary  Magdalen.  Behind 
the  closed  doors  of  this  chapel  are  imprisoned  all  the  members 
of  the  conventus,  representing  the  spirits  in  limbo  Patrum. 
After  a triple  challenge,  Tollite  porta s,  from  a priest  without, 
the  door  of  the  chapel  is  opened  and  the  imprisoned  spirits  are 
allowed  to  depart  in  procession  toward  the  sepulchrum.  The 
full  rubrics  explaining  this  representation  leave  little  doubt  that 
impersonation  is  deliberately  intended. 

The  subsequent  raising  of  the  Host  from  the  sepulchrum 
includes  no  novelties  in  the  w^ay  of  action.  The  central  ob- 
servance is  the  adoration  of  the  Host  at  the  main  altar.  The 
concluding  procession  from  this  altar  to  the  altar  of  Holy 
Trinity  is  interpreted  for  us  as  representing  the  journey  of 
Christ  into  Galilee.  The  absence  from  this  office  of  all  mention 
of  the  Ymago  Crucifixi,  used  in  the  Depositio,  is  somewhat 
puzzling. 

As  we  approach  the  end  of  the  present  section  of  this  study, 
we  have  still  to  consider  certain  versions  of  the  Depositio  and 
Elevatio  which,  by  reason  of  one  peculiarity  or  another,  have 
thus  far  resisted  classification,  but  which  deserve  at  least  brief 
notice.  The  following  are  fifteenth-century  versions  from 
Hungary:100 

< DEPOSITIO  CRUCIS  ET  HOSTLE>101 
Interim102  Subcustos  exportat  moxstrantiam  cum  Sacramento  pro 

SEPULTURA  AD  ALTARE  MAGNUM.  HlS  PERACTIS  DESCENDAT  CHORUS  PRO- 
CESSION ALITER  AD  LOCUM  UBI  SEPULTURA  ORDINATA103  EST,  EPISCOPO  IPSOS  CUM 

Sacramento  sequente,  precedentlbus  quattuor  precedentibus  seu 

IUUENIBUS  CUM  BACULIS  AURATIS  CUM  CANDELIS  ACCENSIS.  Et  DOMINUS 

Episcopus  recondat  Crucem  cum  Sacramento  reverenter  thurificando 


100  Published  by  J.  Dank6,  Vetus  Hymnarium  Ecclesiasticum  Hungariae, 
Budapest,  1893,  pp.  535-538,  from  “Ordinarius  Scepusiensis  sive  Strigoniensis 
saeculi  decimi  quinti  e codice  manuscripto  Bibliothecae  R.  Universitatis 
Budapestinensis.”  With  the  Depositio  should  be  compared  the  text  from  Gran 
printed  above,  pp.  32-33. 

101  Dank6,  pp.  535-536. 

102  Immediately  preceded  by  Vespers. 

103sepultura  ordinata]  sepulturam  ordinatam  (Dank6). 


YOUNG — THE  EASTER  SEPULCHRE 


123 


ET  ASPERGENDO  AC  SIGLLLANDO  SEPULCHRUM.  INTERIM  CHORUS  CANTET 
R esponsoria: 

Hierusalem  luge. 

Ecce  vidimus. 

Plange  quasi  virgo. 

Recessit  pastor  bonus. 

Recondito  Sacramento,  chorus  cantet  Responsorium: 

Sepulto  Domino. 

Et  postea  Dominus  Episcopus  dicat  versum  et  orationem  ut  in  Missali. 
Tandem  facta  reverentia  recedat.104 

<ELEVATIO  CRUCIS  ET  HOSTLE>105 

Item  in  Matutino  post  ultimam  omeliam,  dum  Chorales  incepiunt  ad 
responsorium:  Dum  transisset,  debent  procedere  usque  ad  Sepulchrum; 
et  ibidem  Chorales  versiculum  cum  Gloria  Patri  sollemnisabunt. 
Ibique  Ministri  stantes  candelis  accensis,  thure  et  thuribulo  ibi 

EXISTENTIBUS,  ET  INTERIM  UNUS  LEUABIT  SEPULCHRUM  ET  HOSTIAM  ET  DOMINUS 
PONTIFEX  SIUE  PLEBANUS  PRECEDENTES  SOLLEMNITER  THURIFICABIT.  DeIN 

Corpus  cum  parva  Cruce  excipiet,  quod  impositum  fuit  feria  sexta 

MAJORIS  EBDOMADE.  Et  EXCIPIT  CUM  VERSICULO  ISTO*. 

Surrexit  dominus  de  sepulchro,  alleluia,  qui  pro  nobis. 

Et  interea  circa  altare  Beate  Virginis  calicem  cum  corporalibus 

PREPARANT.  TUNC  DOMINUS  PONTIFEX  SEU  PLEBANUS  ACCEDENS  CORPUS 
XRISTI  SUPER  PATENAM  TENENS  IN  MANU  HONORIFICE  ET  AD  MAXIM  AM  REUER- 
ENCIAM  VERTAT  SE  TRIBUS  VICIBUS  AD  POPULUM  CUM  CORPORE  XRISTI  CAN- 
TANDO: 

Pax  vobis,  cum  suo  Alleluia. 

Chorus  respondet: 

Nolite  timere,  alleluia. 

DeINDE  PROCESSIO  CANENDO  REDIBIT  AD  CHORUM  SOLEMNISANDO : 

Te  Deum. 

The  notable  circumstance  connected  with  these  texts  is  the 
unusual  liturgical  position  of  the  Elevatio:  before  the  Te  Deum 
at  the  end  of  Easter  Matins.  As  we  have  already  conjec- 
tured,106 this  may  have  been  the  original  location  of  the  Ele- 
vatio, and  the  transference  of  this  office  to  the  beginning  of 
Matins  may  have  been  made  in  order  to  provide  a place  for 
the  Visitatio . 


104  Followed  immediately  by  the  rubric:  In  Completorio. 

105  Dank6,  pp.  537-538. 

106  See  above,  pp.  31,  95. 


124 


UNIVERSITY  OF  WISCONSIN  STUDIES 


Special  considerations  of  a different  sort  arise  in  connection 
with  the  following  versions  from  Diessen:107 

<DEPOSITIO  CRUCIS  ET  HOSTLE>108 
His  finitis  duo  VrcspyleRi  induti  albis  patent  Ymagimem?  q ue  sepelienda 

E St,  PreCEDENTE  CtfMUENTU  CUm  ACCENSW  CANDELW  ET  TKXJRibulo FACIAMT 
proCESSiowm  per  ECclesiAm  circumEUNDO  et  cantando  lugubri  voce  Res- 
ponsorium: 

Ecce  quo modo  mori tur.  Versus : In  pace  i actus. 

POSTEA  LOCENT  YmAGINEM?  AD  SEPULCHR7?m  CUM?  THURIFICa/?0Wg  et  ASPerSIONE. 
Et  dicant  Vesperas  ibid em  prfuATim.  Ps almus:  CoMfitebor,  cu m versicuLo. 
Se  quitur  Magnificat.  An  tiphona:  Cu  m accepisset.  Ps  almus:  Miserere  mei,  cum 
ORatiowE.  <fol.  20r>SE quitur  Responsorium: 

Sepulto  Domino.  Versus:  Ne  forte  veniant. 

Et  sic  redeamt  im  CHORwm.  Tunc  compuLSENT«r  tabule  onmes. 

< ELEV  ATIO  CRUCIS  ET  HOSTLE>109 

In  sanclA  nocte  ante  HOROLOGium  Decanus  cum  seniorib??.?  tollant 
Ymaginem?  Saluatoris,  report ato  p rius  Sacramcmto,  de  Sepulchro  cum 
ps  almo: 

Domine,  qwid  midtiplicati. 

Et  cant  Ant  ANtiphonam: 

Snrrexit  Do  minus. 

Cum?  incenso  et  ASPersoRio  portent  Ymagine/m  super  summum?  altare,  et 

OSCULENTMr  EArn  CUM?  GAUDIO  ET  DEUOCIONE.  TUNC  CONPULSENTUR  OMNIA 
SIGNA. 

The  specialty  of  the  Diessen  Depositio  is  its  apparent 
assimilation  of  Vespers.  After  the  Communion  of  the  Mass, 
when  the  Imago  has  been  placed  in  the  sepulchrum , Vespers  are 
immediately  said  in  this  place  privatim.  At  the  close  of  Vespers 
is  sung  the  responsory  Sepulto  Domino . Since  this  responsory 
is  commonly  associated  with  the  closing  action  of  the  Depositio , 
the  present  version  of  this  office  may  be  viewed  as  including 
Vespers  within  itself. 

The  Elevatio  raises  no  particular  question  except  through 
the  obscurity  surrounding  the  use  of  the  Host.  Although  the 

107  Munich,  Hofbibliothek,  Cod.  lat.  5545,  Ordinarium  Diessense  saec.  xv, 
fol.  19v~20v.  The  Depositio  and  Elevatio  from  this  manuscript  are  now  published 
for  the  first  time.  The  Visitatio  has  been  published  by  N.  C.  Brooks  in  Zeitschrift 
fiir  deutsekes  Altertum , L,  305-306.  It  is  possible  that  with  these  texts  should 
be  associated  those  cited  above  from  Munich,  Hofbibliothek,  Cod.  lat.  5546. 
See  above,  p.  88,  note  71. 

108  Munich,  Cod.  Lat.  5545,  fol.  19v-20r. 

109  Id.,  fol.  20v. 


YOUNG — THE  EASTER  SEPULCHRE 


125 


Depositio  does  not  mention  it,  the  Elevatio  indicates  that  the 
Host  must  have  been  included  in  the  burial,  and  that  it  was 
secretly  removed  from  the  sepulchrum  before  the  time  of  the 
Elevatio , early  Easter  morning  ( reportato  prhis  Sacramento'). 

The  last  texts  that  we  need  consider  are  the  following  from 
Regensburg:110 

< DEPOSITIO  CRUCIS>1U 

Expleta  autem  Communione  Fidelium,  particulae  Corporis  Christi, 

SI  QUAE  SUPERFUERINT,  SERVENTUR  ET  PORTENTUR  IN  LOCUM  HONESTUM.112 

Quibus  omnibus  peractis  Sacerdos  cum  ministris  tollat  Crucifixum, 

QUOD  REPRAESENTATUM  FUERAT,  ET  DEFERANT  AD  SEPULCHRUM  CANTANTES 
Res  pons  orium: 

Recessit  pastor  noster,  vel 
Ecce  quomodo  moritur. 

Tunc  locent  Crucifixum  in  Sepulchrum,  et  flexis  genibus  leg  ant  Ves- 

PERAS  SUBMISSA  VOCE.  POSTREMO  CANTETUR  LENTA  VOCE  CUM  VERSU  RES- 

ponsorium: 

Sepulto  Domino. 

Tunc  Sacerdos  dicat  versum: 

In  pace  factus  est, 
et  orationem: 

Respice. 

Aspergatur  et  thurificetur. 

< ELEVATIO  CRUCIS  ET  HOSTLE>113 

Episcopus  aut  Praepositus  aut  Decanus  sive  senior  Canonicus,  indutus 
stola,  ante  pulsum  Matutinarum,  congregato  choro,  CUM  processione  et 

DUOBUS  LUMINIBUS,  FORIS  ECCLESIAE  CLAUSIS,  SECRETIUS  TOLLAT  SACRAMENTUM 

seu  Crucifixum;  et  antequam  tollat,  dicantur  psalmi  flexis  genibus  et 
sine  Gloria  Patri,  videlicet: 

Domine  quid  multiplicati  sunt  (Ps.  3), 

Miserere  mei  Deus  (Ps.  56), 

Domine  probasti  me  (Ps.  138). 

Sequitur: 

Kyrie  eleison,  Christe  eleison,  Kyrie  eleison. 

Pater  noster.  'Versus:  Et  ne  nos. 

Versus:  Exsurge  Domine,  adiuva,  etc. 

Versus:  Foderunt  manus  meas,  etc. 

Versus:  Domine  exaudi,  etc. 


1,0  In  connection  with  these  texts  should  be  considered  those  from  Munich 
Cod.  Lat.  26947,  printed  above,  pp.  88-89. 

111  Decreta  Authenlica,  IV,  432,  from  Obsequiale  Ratisbonense,  1491. 

112  The  liturgiologist  of  the  Decreta  Authenlica  infers  (p.  432)  that  the 
locus  honestus  is  the  sepulchrum. 

113  Decreta  Authenlica , IV,  440,  from  Obsequiale  Ratisbonense , 1491. 


126 


UNIVERSITY  OF  WISCONSIN  STUDIES 


Oratio: 

Da  nobis,  Domine,  auxilium  de  tribulatione,  qui  dedisti  pro  nobis  pre- 
tium  magnum,  et  quos  mors  Filii  tui  D.  N.  I.  C.  redemit,  eorum  vita  te 
digne  glorficet.  Per  eumdem,  etc. 

Finita  collecta  aspergatur  et  thurificetur  Crux,  et  portetur  ad 
locum  suum,  cum  r esponsorium: 

Cum  transisset  Sabbatum,  etc., 

Media  voce  cantatur.  Et  antequam  Crux  in  suum  locum  reponatur, 

TANGATUR  PORTA  ECCLESIAE  CUM  CRUCE  ET  DICATUR  VerSUS 
Quis  est  iste  Rex  gloriae? 

R esponsum: 

Dominus  fortis  et  potens,  Dominus  potens  in  praelio. 

Finito  responsorio  Episcopus  vel  Sacerdos  dicat  submissa  voce  versus: 
In  resurrectione  tua,  Christe,  allel. 

R esponsum: 

Coelum  et  terra  laetentur,  allel. 

Oratio: 

Deus,  qui  hodierna  die  etc.  (ex  Offic.  Dom.  Resurr.) 

Sequitur: 

Versus:  Surrexit  Dominus  vere,  allel. 

R esponsum:  Gaudeamus  omnes,  allel. 

Finitis  his  incipiatur  pulsus  Matutinarum,  et  finito  tertio  responsorio 

REENCIPIATUR  IDEM  RESPONSORIUM : 

Cum  transisset,  etc. 

Et  fiet  processio  cum  toto  choro  ad  Sepulchrum,  ibique  perficietur 

RESPONSORIUM.  QUO  FINITO  DUO  PRESBYTERI  STANTES  ANTE  SEPULCHRUM, 
ACCEPTIS  (SIC!)  OBUMBRALI  LOCO  SUDARII  EXTENDENTESQUE  ILLUD  CANTENT 
ALTA  VOCE  TOT  AM  ANTIPHON  AM: 

Surrexit  Dominus  de  Sepulchro,  qui  pro  nobis  pependit  in  ligno,  alleluia. 
Et  cantata  antiphona,  Episcopus,  Praepositus,  vel  Decanus  aut  senior 
Canonicus  incipiat  canticum  laetitiae: 

Te  Deum. 

Cum  quo  reditur  ad  chorum  et  completur  Matutinum  ibidem. 

In  its  organic  relation  to  Vespers,  the  Depositio  of  Regens- 
burg resembles  that  of  Diessen. 

Perhaps  the  most  notable  feature  of  the  Elevatio  is  the  use  of 
an  abbreviated  form  of  the  Descensus  dialogue  Quis  est  iste  Rex 
glorice?  This  brief  dialogue  is  introduced  after  the  taking  up  of 
the  Cross,  and  the  familiar  command  Tollite  portas  is  omitted. 

Brief  mention  should  be  made,  finally,  of  the  embryonic 
version  of  the  Visitation  at  the  close  of  Matins.  Between  the 
last  responsory  and  the  Te  Deum , a procession  visits  the  empty 
sepulchrum , where  at  the  displaying  of  a veil  representing  the 
sudarium , is  sung  the  antiphon  Surrexit  Dominus. 


YOUNG — THE  EASTER  SEPULCHRE 


127 


By  way  of  summarizing  this  division  of  the  subject  one  need 
only  call  attention  to  the  considerable  number  of  versions  of 
the  Elevatio  in  connection  with  which  is  developed  the  theme 
of  the  Descensus.  This  development  involves  not  only  a highly 
dramatic  dialogue,  but  also,  probably,  a considerable  measure 
of  mimetic  action.  The  Elevatio  from  Barking  may  intend 
something  deliberate  in  the  way  of  impersonation. 


VI 

The  facts  now  at  hand  concerning  the  Depositio  and  Ele- 
vatio, along  with  our  previous  knowledge  of  the  Visitatio  Sepul- 
chri,  should  enable  us  to  draw  certain  final  conclusions  as  to 
the  probable  inter-relations  of  these  dramatic  offices  in  the  his- 
torical development.  For  a precise  demonstration  the  data 
are,  I think,  insufficient;  but  for  a statement  of  probabilities 
the  facts  now  available  are  ample. 

In  view  of  the  data  surveyed  in  this  study,  the  extra- 
liturgical  sepulchrum  can  scarcely  be  regarded  as  an  independent 
device  invented  exclusively  for  the  purposes  of  the  dramatic 
offices  under  consideration.  From  the  earliest  period  of  formal 
Christian  worship  the  idea  of  burial  seems  to  have  attached 
itself  to  certain  objects  used  in  the  authorized  liturgy  itself: 
especially  the  altar,  the  tabernacle,  and  the  chalice.  At  one 
time  or  another  during  the  early  middle  ages  these  objects  were 
either  associated  with  the  grave  through  physical  contact, — 
as  in  the  case  of  the  altar,1 — or  were  interpreted  as  sepulchra 
through  symbolism.  When  a dramatic  impulse  arose  requiring 
a mise  en  scene  for  commemorations  of  the  Burial  and  Resur- 
rection,— apparently  in  the  course  of  the  tenth  century, — the 
sepulchrum  was  already  at  hand  for  adoption.  The  dramatic 
offices,  to  be  sure,  gave  added  currency  to  the  name  “sepul- 
chrum,n and  they  eventually  elaborated  structures  of  their 
own;  but  they  cannot  be  credited  with  the  invention  of  the 
thing  itself. 

Concerning  the  general  sequence  of  the  dramatic  develop- 
ments at  this  sepulchrum  we  can,  I think,  be  reasonably  certain. 


1 See  especially  Hirn,  pp.  19-30. 


128 


UNIVERSITY  OF  WISCONSIN  STUDIES 


I infer  that  the  Deposition  along  with  the  complementary 
Elevatio,  was  the  original  development,  and  that  the  Visitatio 
attached  itself  to  the  sepulchrum  later,  as  a sequel.  In  support 
of  this  inference  I would  cite  first  the  difference  between  the 
Depositio-Elevatio  and  the  Visitajio  in  liturgical  content  and 
tone.  The  former  dramatic  sequence  is  completely  litur- 
gical in  content,  devoid  of  original  composition  and  of  dialogue. 
The  Visitatio,  on  the  other  hand,  is  essentially  a free  composi- 
tion. Although  the  developed  versions  of  it  contain  numerous 
liturgical  pieces,2  the  invariable  central  element  of  the  Visitatio 
is  #an  independent  literary  production:  the  dialogued  trope 
Quem  queer itis  in  sepulchro.3  I infer  that  if  the  Visitatio  had 
preceded  the  Depositio-Elevatio,  the  later  offices  would,  through 
natural  imitation,  have  reflected  something  of  the  dialogue 
and  freer  composition  of  the  Visitatio.  That  the  Visitatio 
should  not  have  conformed  to  the  liturgical  rigor  of  the  Deposi- 
tio-Elevatio is  due,  apparently,  to  the  fact  that  the  Visitatio 
brought  to  the  sepulchrum  an  independent  literary  dialogue 
ready  for  dramatic  use. 

Another  consideration  leads  me  to  the  same  general  conclu- 
sion as  to  the  priority  of  the  Depositio-Elevatio.  From  the 
present  study  nothing  is  more  apparent  than  that  these  offices, 
however  dramatic  their  ceremonials,  never  in  themselves  devel- 
oped true  drama.  That  is  to  say,  the  performers  never  imper- 
sonated the  characters  concerned.  However  imitative  or 
commemorative  the  acts  may  have  been,  the  agents  in  the 
action  never  specifically  assumed  the  personalities  involved  in 
the  story  inspiring  the  action.4  In  the  Visitatio  Sepulcliri,  on 
the  other  hand,  impersonation  is  frequent.  Of  this  fact  one  of 
the  earliest  extant  versions  of  the  Visitatio, — from  St.  Athel- 


2 See  Lange,  pp.  167-170,  et  pass. 

3 See,  for  example,  id.,  pp.  131-132;  Chambers,  II,  28;  and  above,  p.  7. 

4 In  making  this  statement  I have  in  mind  what  we  may  call  the  normal 
forms  of  the  Depositio  and  Elevatio,  which  are  concerned  with  the  laying  down 
(or  “burial”)  and  the  raising  (or  “resurrection”)  of  the  Cross  or  Host,  or  of  both. 
The  dramatic  treatment  of  the  Harrowing  of  Hell,  added  to  certain  versions  of 
the  Elevatio,  does  sometimes  develop  impersonation  (See  above,  pp.  117-122); 
but  the  Descensus  is  not  the  central  theme  of  either  the  Depositio  or 
the  Elevatio.  In  their  central  action,  the  Depositio  and  Elevatio  do  not  develop 
impersonation. 


YOUNG — THE  EASTER  SEPULCHRE 


129 


wold’s  Concordia  Regularise — may  serve  as  an  illustration. 
Whereas  in  the  pages  above5  we  have  found  that  the  Depositio 
and  Elevatio  from  this  document  involve  no  impersonation  at 
all,  the  Visitatio  prescribes  it  with  insistent  explicitness  in  such 
rubrics  as  the  following: 

Dumque  tertium  percelebratur  responsorium  residui  tres  succedant, 
omnes  quidem  cappis  induti  turribula  cum  incensu  manibus  gestantes,  ac 
pedetemptim  ad  similitudinem  querentium  quid  ueniant  ante  locum  Sepulchri. 
Aguntur  enim  hec  ad  imitationem  Angeli  sedentis  in  monumento  atque  mulie- 
rum  cum  aromatibus  venientium  ut  ungerent  corpus  Jhesu.6 

Now  I assume  that  if  the  Visitatio , with  impersonation  of 
this  sort,  had  preceded  the  Depositio  and  Elevatio , these  latter 
offices  would,  in  some  measure,  have  imitated  the  Visitatio  in 
this  important  aspect.  The  consistent  absence  of  impersona- 
tion from  the  Depositio  and  Elevatio  seems  to  me  to  indicate 
that  they  had  attained  their  rigid  liturgical  character  before 
the  advent  of  the  Visitatio. 

I may,  then,  summarize  my  conception  of  the  development 
as  follows: 

1)  The  authorized  liturgy  itself  early  developed  the  idea 
of  sepulchrum  in  connection  with  such  ritualistic  objects  as  the 
altar,  the  tabernacle,  and  the  chalice. 

2)  Availing  themselves  of  this  idea  of  burial,  the  extra- 
liturgical  Depositio  and  Elevatio  arose,  in  the  course  of  the 
tenth  century,  under  the  influence  especially  of  the  reservation 
on  Holy  Thursday  and  of  the  Adoraiio  Crucis  of  Good  Friday.7 
In  many  cases  the  Depositio  allies  itself  to  the  authorized 
liturgy  with  especial  intimacy.8  I infer  that  the  Depositio  was 
invented  first,  and  that  the  Elevatio  arose  as  a necessary  comple- 
ment. The  two  offices  are  mutually  complete,9  and  both  are 
essentially  liturgical  in  spirit  and  content. 

3)  During  the  early  years  of  the  tenth  century  was  pro- 
duced the  trope  Quem  quceritis  in  sepulchro  as  an  independent 


6  See  pp.  73-74. 

6 Logemann,  in  Anglia , XIII,  427. 

7 See  above,  pp.  9-29. 

8 See  above,  for  example,  pp.  73,  76. 

9 “The  Depositio  and  Elevatio  mutually  presuppose  each  other  and, together, 
are  complete”  (Chambers,  II,  25). 


130 


UNIVERSITY  OF  WISCONSIN  STUDIES 


literary  composition  in  the  form  of  dialogue.10  During  the 
course  of  the  tenth  century  this  trope  was  very  appropriately 
brought  into  association  with  the  sepulchrum , and  its  dialogue 
became  the  basis  of  the  dramatic  Visitatio  Sepulchri .n  This 
office  formed  a fitting,  but  not  an  inevitable,  sequel  for  the 
Depositio-Elevatio . 

Many  churches  observed  both  the  Depositio-Elevatio  and  the 
Visitatio;  but  since  the  former  sequence  is  complete  in  itself, 
and  since  the  Visitatio  is  quite  capable  of  independent  per- 
formance, a church  could  freely  omit  either  the  one  or  the 
other.12 


10  See  Publications  of  the  Modern  Language  Association , XXIX,  5-13. 
See  above,  p.  7. 

11  Some  may  wish  to  argue  that  Deposition  Elevatio,  and  Visitatio  attached 
themselves  to  the  sepulchrum  simultaneously.  As  I have  suggested  above,  these 
persons  will  have  to  account  for  the  fact  that  even  at  an  early  period  (repre- 
sented by  the  Concordia  Regularis  of  St.  Athelwold)  the  Visitatio  became  true 
drama,  whereas  the  Depositio-Elevatio  never  attained  this  development. 

12  Disregard  of  this  simple  fact  sometimes  leads  to  the  investigator’s  con- 
fusion. The  rarity  of  the  Visitatio  in  England,  for  example,  might  seem  puzzling 
in  view  of  the  large  number  of  “Easter  sepulchres”  still  to  be  seen  throughout 
the  country.  These  sepulchres,  in  general,  were  evidently  designed  not  for  the 
Visitatio , but  for  versions  of  the  Depositio-Elevatio,  such  as  those  from  Sarum, 
York,  and  Exeter.  See  above,  for  example,  pp.  97-100. 


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